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Empirical Formula Worksheet

1. The document provides examples of calculating empirical formulas from percentage composition data. It gives the percentage by mass of elements in various compounds and shows the step-by-step work to determine the simplest whole number ratio of elements in each empirical formula. 2. Examples include compounds containing sulfur and oxygen, phosphorus and oxygen, calcium, oxygen and hydrogen, magnesium and nitrogen, iron, oxygen and phosphorus, and carbohydrates containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. 3. The examples also demonstrate using the experimentally determined molar mass to distinguish between the empirical formula and molecular formula when the molar mass is a whole number multiple of the empirical formula mass.

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524 views3 pages

Empirical Formula Worksheet

1. The document provides examples of calculating empirical formulas from percentage composition data. It gives the percentage by mass of elements in various compounds and shows the step-by-step work to determine the simplest whole number ratio of elements in each empirical formula. 2. Examples include compounds containing sulfur and oxygen, phosphorus and oxygen, calcium, oxygen and hydrogen, magnesium and nitrogen, iron, oxygen and phosphorus, and carbohydrates containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. 3. The examples also demonstrate using the experimentally determined molar mass to distinguish between the empirical formula and molecular formula when the molar mass is a whole number multiple of the empirical formula mass.

Uploaded by

mkapkr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Empirical Formula Worksheet

1. A chemist finds that an unknown compound contains 50.5% S and 49.95 % O by weight. Calculate its
empirical
We will first determine the number of moles of each element based on a 100 g
moles
g
S mol
gS 561 . 1
06 . 32
1
5 . 50 =

divide by smallest (1.561mol) 1.561/1.561=1


moles
g
O mol
gO 122 . 3
999 . 15
1
95 . 49 =

3.122/1.561=2
empirical formula is:
2
SO
2. A certain compound containing only phosphorus and oxygen is 56.3 % P (by mass) Determine the
empirical formula of this compound.
100 g of compound contains 56.3 g P and 43.7 g O
(56.3 g P) (1 mole P / 31.0 g) = 1.82 mole P /1.82 mole = 1
(43.7 g O) (1 mole O / 16.0 g) = 2.73 mole O/ 1.82 mole =1.5
Empirical formula: = P
2
O
3
3. Determine the empirical formula for a compound which is 54.09% Ca, 43.18% O, and 2.73% H
Assume 100 g of the substance, then 54.09 g Calcium, 43.18 g oxygen and 2.73g hydrogen.
Ca = 54.09g C x (1 mol Ca/40g Ca) = 1.352; 1.352 mol Ca /1.352 mol = 1
O = 43.18 g O x (1 mol O /16 g O) = 2.699; 2.699 mol O /1.352 mol = 2
H = 2.73 g H x (1 mol H/1.01g H) = 2.73; 2.73 mol H /1.352 mol = 2
CaO
2
H
2
= Ca(OH)
2
4. A compound consists of 72.2% magnesium and 27.8% nitrogen by mass. What is the empirical formula?
Assume 100 g of the substance, then 72.2 g magnesium and 27.8 g nitrogen.
for Mg: 72.2 g Mg x (1 mol Mg/24.3 g Mg) = 2.97 mol Mg 2.97 mol Mg / l.99 mol = 1.49
for N: 27.8 g N x (1 mol N/14.0 g N) = 1.99 mol N 1.99 mol N / l.99 mol = 1.00
for Mg: 2 x 1.49 = 2.98 (i.e., 3)
for N: 2 x 1.00 = 2.00
Mg
3
N
2
5. A 5.438 gram sample, was found to contain 2.549 grams of iron, 1.947 grams of oxygen, and 0.9424 grams
of phosphorus. What is its empirical formula?
2.549 grams of Fe X 1 mole of Fe = 0.0456 moles of Fe
55.85 g Fe
1.947 grams of O X 1 mole of O = 0.1217 moles of O
16.00 g O
0.9424 grams of P X 1 mole of P = 0.0304 moles of P
30.97 g P
Therefore the formula is Fe
0.0456
O
0.1217
P
0.0304
= Fe
1.5
O
4.0
P
1
=Fe
3
O
8
P
2
6. A compound contains 63.11 % C, 12.36 % H, and 24.53 % N.
(a) What is its empirical formula?
Get moles of each element, then determine the mole ratio. Assume 100 g of the compound, so that
you have 63.11 g C, 12.36 g H, 24.53 g N. 1 extra digit shown in calculations below.
63.11 g C x (1 mol C / 12.011 g C) = 5.2543 mol C
12.36 g H x (1 mol H / 1.0079 g) = 12.263 mol H
24.53 g N x (1 mol N / 14.0067 g) = 1.7513 mol N
Moles of N is the smallest number; get other ratios relative to N:
5.2543 mol C / 1.7513 mol N = 3.000 mol C / mol N
12.263 mol H / 1.7513 mol N = 7.002 mol H / mol N
Therefore the empirical formula is C
3
H
7
N.
(b) If the experimental molar mass is 114.2 g/mol, what is the molecular formula?
C
3
H
7
N has a formula weight of 3*12.011 + 7*1.0079 + 14.0067 = 57.10 g/mol. This is exactly half of the
experimental molar mass (114.2 / 57.10 = 2.00), so the molecular formula is C
6
H
14
N
2
.
7. A certain carbohydrate compound (containing only C, H and 0) is 40.0% C, 6.72% H, and 53.3% O by
mass. The experimentally determined molecular mass is 180 g/mol. What is the empirical and molecular
formula for this carbohydrate?
Choosing 100g as a convenient mass, we would have 40.0g of C, 6.72g H and 53.3g of O
40.0 g C * (1 mole/12.0g) = 3.33 moles C
6.72 g H * (1 mole/1.01g) = 6.65 moles H
53.3 g O * (1 mole/16.0g) = 3.33 moles O
Calculating the relative stoichiometry by dividing by the smallest:
(6.65/3.33) = 2.00 moles H, and 1.0 mole each for C and O
This yields an empirical formula of CH
2
O
This would have an atomic mass of (12.0 + 2.02 + 16.0) = 30 g/mol
The actual molecular mass is 180 g/mol, or (180/30) = 6.0 times that of the empirical formula. Therefore,
the chemical formula must be: C
6
H
12
O
6

8. A certain hydrocarbon compound (containing only C and H) is 83.6% C and 16.4% H by mass. The
experimentally determined molecular mass is 86.2 amu. What is the empirical and chemical formula for
this hydrocarbon? (2 points)
Choosing 100g as a convenient mass, we would have 83.6 g of C and 16.4 g of H
83.6 g C * (1 mole/12.01g) = 6.96 moles C
16.4 g H * (1 mole/1.01g) = 16.24 moles H
Calculating the relative stoichiometry by dividing by the smallest:
(6.96/6.96) = 1.00 moles C
(16.24/6.96) = 2.33 moles H
The value for H looks like 2 1/3, so multiply both molar amounts by 3 to give an empirical formula of C
3
H
7
This would have an atomic mass of (3*12.01)+(7*1.01) = 43.1 amu
The actual molecular mass is 86.2 amu, or (83.6/43.1) = 2.0 times that of the empirical formula. Therefore,
the chemical formula must be: C
6
H
14

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