Home > Chemistry > Empirical and Molecular Formulas

What is the empirical formula of a compound made up of 80% oxygen and 20% hydrogen?

Answer 1

I think you will need to check your sources.......

We assume a #100*g# mass of compound, and we interrogate its atomic composition by dividing thru by the ATOMIC masses of each constituent.....

#"Moles of oxygen"=(80.0*g)/(15.999*g*mol^-1)=5.00*mol#

The formula for "moles of hydrogen" is (2.0g)/(1.00794gmol^-1) = 20.0mol.

To obtain an empirical formula, we divide by the LOWEST molar quantity.

#H_4O#.....

This chemical formula is invalid, and I would double-check your source.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Owen Ambrose

The compound's empirical formula is H4O.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.