EMPERICAL FORMULA

-Emperical formula give you the SIMPLEST, WHOLE NUMBER ratio of atoms in a compound

STEPS IN DETERMINING THE EMPIRICAL FORMULA

 If the given is in Percentage, we can assume that the total mass is 100 grams, thus
MASS OF EACH ELEMENT = PERCENT GIVEN.

1. Convert the mass of each element to mole using the molar mass found in the
periodic table.
2. Divide each mole value to the smallest number calculated.
3. Round to the nearest whole number/ if the number is to far to round, multiply EACH
solution by the same factor to get the lowest whole number.
*e.g. If one solution is 1.5, then multiply each solution in the problem by 2 to get 3.
*e.g. If one solution is 1.25, then multiply each solution in the problem by 4 to get 5.

EXAMPLE:

1. A compound was analyzed and found to contain 13.5 g Ca, 10.8 g O, and 0.675 g H.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?

Given:

13.5g Ca
10.8g O
0.675g H

Step 1. Convert the mass of each element to mole using the molar mass found in the
periodic table.

Step 2. Divide each mole value to the smallest

number calculated. (0.337 mol Ca)
 Step 3. Round to the nearest whole number/ if the number is to far to round, multiply
EACH solution by the same factor to get the lowest whole number.

Therefore, the empirical formula of is

Ca1O2H2 or Ca(OH)2

MOLECULAR FORMULA
-Molecular formula tells the number of each type of atom in a molecule, The molecular formula
for a compound can be determined if the molar mass of the compound is known.

STEPS IN DETERMINING THE MOLECULAR FORMULA

Step 1. calculate the mass of the empirical formula.

Step 2. divide the molar mass of the compound by the mass of the empirical formula to find the
ratio between the molecular formula and the empirical formula.

Step 3. Multiply all the atoms (subscripts) by this ratio to find the molecular formula.

EXAMPLE:

1. NutraSweet is 57.14% C, 6.16% H, 9.52% N, and 27.18% O.  Calculate the empirical
formula of NutraSweet and find the molecular formula.  (The molar mass of
NutraSweet is 294.30 g/mol)
 Mass of each element = percent given.

Given:
 57.14g C
6.16g H
9.52g N
27.18g O

Step 1. Convert the mass of each element to mole using the molar mass found in the
periodic table.

Step 2. Divide each mole value to the smallest number calculated. (0.68 mol N),

Step 3 Round to the nearest whole number/ if the number is to far to round, multiply
EACH solution by the same factor to get the lowest whole number.
Therefore the empirical formula is C14H18N2O5. From this we can now get the Molecular
formula.

STRUCTURAL FORMULA