Final answer:
The empirical formula of the compound with 13.10% sulfur and 86.90% chlorine is SCl3.
Step-by-step explanation:
The empirical formula can be determined by converting the percentages of each element into moles and then finding the simplest whole number ratio.
In this case, the compound is composed of 13.10% sulfur and 86.90% chlorine. Assume a 100g sample.
Mass of sulfur = 13.10g and mass of chlorine = 86.90g.
Convert the masses into moles using the molar mass:
moles of sulfur = 13.10g / 32.07 g/mol = 0.408 mol sulfur and
moles of chlorine = 86.90g / 70.90 g/mol = 1.225 mol chlorine.
Next, divide both moles by the smallest number of moles:
moles of sulfur = 0.408 / 0.408 = 1 mol sulfur
moles of chlorine = 1.225 / 0.408 ≈ 3 mol chlorine.
The empirical formula is therefore SCl3.