Empirical and Molecular Formulas

A how‐to guide
TEKS 8Cii and 8Ciii

Example 1
A sample of caffeine was found to contain 49.5% carbon, 28.9% nitrogen, 16.5% oxygen and 5.1% hydrogen by mass.
Find the empirical formula for caffeine.

Step 1 – Mass to moles. Assume you have a 100 g sample. Convert each element into moles.

1 mol C
49.5 g C   4.12 mol C
carbon: 12.01 g C
1 mol H
5.1 g H   5.0 mol H
hydrogen: 1.01 g H
1 mol N
28.9 g N   2.06 mol N
nitrogen: 14.01 g N
1 mol O
16.05 g O   1.03 mol O
oxygen: 16.00 g O
Step 2 ‐ relative moles. Divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest value for moles calculated in step 1.

Empirical Formula: C4H5N2O

Molecular Formula
If the molar mass of caffeine is 194.2 g/mol, what is the molecular formula?
Determine the mass for the empirical formula:
4(12.01g)+5(1.01g)+2(14.01g)+1(16.00g) = 97.11 g
Divide molar mass by empirical mass to determine the multiplying factor:
194.2 g
 2; Molecular Formula: C8 H10 N 4 O 2
97.1 g Molecular Formula: C8H10N4O2

Example 2
Sometimes you don’t get even numbers when you divide to determine the lowest whole number ratio.
A sample of a compound was analyzed and found to contain 6.00 g of carbon and 1.100 g of hydrogen. Find the empirical formula.

Step 1 – Mass to moles. Assume you have a 100 g sample. Convert each element into moles.
1 mol C
6.0 g C   0.50 mol C
carbon: 12.01 g C
1 mol H
1.100 g H   1.09 mol H
hydrogen: 1.01 g H
Step 2 ‐ relative moles. Divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest value for moles calculated in step 1.
Step 3 ‐ Make whole numbers
2.2 is the obvious fraction 2 1/5. So we will multiply the subscripts by 5
Empirical Formula: C5H11

Molecular Formula
If the molar mass is 142.36 g/mol, what is the molecular formula? Determine the mass for the empirical formula:
5(12.01g)+11(1.01g) = 71.16 g
Divide molar mass by empirical mass to determine the multiplying factor:

142.36 g
 2; Molecular Formula: C10 H 22
71.16 g Molecular Formula: C8H10N4O2