Answer :
Final answer:
To calculate the empirical formula of a compound, convert the percentages to grams, find the moles of each element, and divide by the smallest number of moles. The empirical formula for a compound with 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O is CH2O.
Explanation:
To calculate the empirical formula of a compound, we need to determine the simplest whole number ratio of the elements present. This can be done by converting the percentages to grams, finding the moles of each element, and then dividing by the smallest number of moles. In this case, we have 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O.
Assuming we have 100 grams of the compound, we have 40.0 grams of C, 6.71 grams of H, and 53.28 grams of O. Converting these masses to moles, we find that we have 3.33 moles of C, 6.65 moles of H, and 3.33 moles of O.
Dividing all the moles by the smallest number of moles, we get a ratio of 1:2:1. Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is CH2O.
