Final answer:
To determine the empirical formula of a compound, convert the percentages of each element to the number of moles, divide by the smallest number of moles to obtain a ratio, and this ratio gives us the empirical formula. For the given compound with the percentages 2.46% H, 39.07% S, and 58.47% O, the empirical formula is H2SO3.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the empirical formula of a compound, we need to find the simplest ratio of the atoms present in the compound. To do this, we convert the percentages of each element to the number of moles using their atomic masses. Then, we divide each element's number of moles by the smallest number of moles to obtain a ratio. The resulting ratio gives us the empirical formula.
In this case, let's assume we have 100 grams of the compound. From the given percentages, we have 2.46 grams of H, 39.07 grams of S, and 58.47 grams of O. Converting these masses to moles, we find that we have approximately 2.44 moles of H, 1.22 moles of S, and 3.65 moles of O.
Now, we need to find the smallest number of moles, which is 1.22 moles of S. Dividing each element's number of moles by this value, we get a ratio of 2 moles H : 1 mole S : 3 moles O. Therefore, the empirical formula for the compound is H2SO3.