Final answer:
The empirical formula of mercury(I) peroxide is HgO.
Step-by-step explanation:
The empirical formula of a compound is the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms present in a molecule. To determine the empirical formula of mercury(I) peroxide (Hg2O2), we need to find the ratio of mercury (Hg) to oxygen (O) atoms.
Since the molecular formula Hg2O2 indicates that there are two Hg atoms and two O atoms, we can divide the subscripts by their greatest common factor, which is 2. This gives us the empirical formula of HgO.
Therefore, the empirical formula of mercury(I) peroxide is HgO.