General

Chemistry 1 11
General Chemistry 1 – Grade 11
Quarter 1 – Module 11: Empirical Formula from Percent Composition
First Edition, 2020

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 General
Chemistry 1
11
Quarter 1
Self-Learning Module 11
Empirical Formula from Percent
Composition
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Chemistry 1 Self-Learning Module 11 on Empirical Formula

from Percent Composition

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely:
Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while
taking into consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
 For the Learner:

Welcome to the Chemistry 1 Self-Learning Module 11 on Empirical Formula

from Percent Composition

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations - This points to the set of knowledge and skills

that you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge about the lesson

at hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts

and skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson - This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up - This section summarizes the concepts

and application of the lesson.

Valuing - This part integrates a desirable moral value in the

lesson.

Posttest – This measures how much you have learned from the
entire module.
 EXPECTATIONS

This module is developed and designed for Senior High School Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students. This module tackles
the topics about empirical formula.
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. explain the concepts behind the empirical formula;
2. calculate the empirical formula from the percent composition of a
compound.; and
3. appreciate the essence of knowing the percent composition of compounds
present in products.

PRE–TEST

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.
1.
Which of the following is the empirical formula of glucose (C6H12O6)?
A.
C2H2O B. CH2O
C. C2HO2 D. C2HO
2.
This formula shows the relative numbers of atoms of each element for
a particular compound.
A.
Molecular Formula B. Nuclear Formula
C. Empirical Formula D. Structural Formula
3.
Which of the following could be an example of an empirical formula?
A. C H O B. H2O2
2 4 6

C. BaO2 D. C6H12O6
4.
A particular compound is found out having 25.9% nitrogen and 74.1%
oxygen after undergoing an analysis. Which of the following is its
empirical formula?
A.
N 2O 5 B. NO
C. N2O4 D. N4O6
5.
All of the following formulas are empirical formula except
A. N 2O 4 B. Na2SO4
C. C3H8 D. AlCl3
 RECAP

Let us try to review the concepts about your previous lesson on

percentage composition of compounds. Analyze the problem below to calculate
what is being determine. Write the computations and answer on a separate sheet
of paper.
1.
Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is known to be present in very small amount in
carbonated drinks and beverages which is responsible for the tartness flavor.
Calculate the percent composition by mass of H, P, and O for this
compound. Molar mass of H3PO4 =97.99 g/mol, H =1.008 g/mol, P = 30.09
g/mol, O =16.00 g/mol

2.
Glucose (C6H12O6) is known to be one of the body’s preferred sources of fuel
in our body in the form of carbohydrates. Determine the percent composition
of glucose.

LESSON

Try to recall those days wherein you keep on discussing the topic of lowest
term of a fraction in your class. Have you ever wonder why there is a need to
reduce a certain fraction into its lowest term? One of the reason why there is a need
to do this is to lessen the burden in calculations specially if you are dealing with
large
number. Imagine multplying 24 and 4 rather than 1 and 1. The effort on multiplying
48 32 2 4
the same fraction is lessen once they are reduced to lowest terms. But for this
module, it presents something that is somehow the same concept of lowest term
but often use in chemistry which is known as empirical formula.

Empirical formula is a type of formula that gives us the relative numbers of

atoms of each element of a particular compound. It shows us the simplest ratio of
one atom to another in the compound. To further understand this definition, let us
cite some examples

Example 1: Does the term “agua oxineda” sounds familiar? This is also known
as hydrogen peroxide that is usually used as an antiseptic and also as a bleaching
agent for textile and hair. Its molecular formula is H2O2. This formula tells us that
a hydrogen peroxide molecule is consists of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen
atoms. If we would determine the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms in this
molecule, we have 2:2 or 1:1 in its lowest term. Therefore the empirical formula of
hydrogen peroxide is HO.
 Example 2. Glucose, has a molecular formula of C 6H12O6, which tells us that
a molecule of glucose consists of 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 6 oxygen
atoms. But if we get the lowest terms of the subscripts of each element, we will
have the ratio of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which is 1:2:1. Therefore the
empirical formula of glucose is CH2O.

When a chemist or scientist discovers a new compound either in nature or

by accidentally synthesizing it, the first move is to determine the mass percentage
composition of the compound. The next step is to determine the empirical formula
of the compound using the information given by mass percentage. But how can we
determine the empirical formula of a compound with the use of mas percent
composition?

Determining the Empirical Formula from Percent Composition

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is known to cure scurvy which is responsible to

the numerous deaths of soldiers during the American Civil War. If it contains
40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by mass. What is the empirical formula of
ascorbic acid?

Strategy:
(a) Keep this in your mind that in a chemical formula, the subscripts tell us the ratio
of number of moles of each element that combine to form one mole of a particular
compound. The problem above shows us that we need to determine the empirical
formula of the ascorbic acid using the percentages of the given elements. The
question is how can we convert mass percent to moles?

(b) If we assume that we have 100-g sample of the compound, do we know the mass
of each element in the compound? How do we then convert from grams to moles?

Solution:

(a) If we assume that we have 100 g of ascorbic acid therefore each percentage can
be directly converted to grams.
(b) In this problem, we have 40.92 g of C, 4.58 g of H, and 54.50 g of O. Since the
subscripts in a formula represent a mole ratio, we need to convert the grams of
each element to moles. We need the molar mass of each element as conversion
factor

Let n represent the number of moles of each element

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
𝑛𝐶 = 40.92 𝑔 𝐶 × = 3.407 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐶
12.01 𝑔
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻𝐶
𝑛𝐻 = 4.58 𝑔 𝐻 × = 4.54 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐻
1.008 𝑔
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂𝐻
𝑛𝑂 = 54.50 𝑔 𝑂 × = 3.406 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑂
16.00 𝑔 𝑂
(c) Therefore, we got the formula C3.407H4.54O3.406, which shows us both identity
and mole ratios present in the compound. However, we all know that chemical
formulas are written using whole numbers. We need to convert to whole
numbers by dividing all the subscripts by the smallest subscript
 3.40 4.54 3.406
𝐶: 7 ≈1 𝐻: = 1.33 𝑂: =1
3.40 3.406
3.40 6
6
The ( ≈ ) sign means “approximately equal to”. Therefore our formula of ascorbic
acid right now is CH 1.33O. Since chemical formulas can be only written using whole
numbers, we need to convert the 1.33 subscript value of H into an integer by
multiplying it to any number until a whole number is obtained. This is usually a trial-
and-error:

1.33 × 1 =1.33 

1.33 × 2 = 2.66 

1.33 × 3 = 3.99 ≈ 4 

Since multiplying 1.33 by 3 gives us an integer 4, we will multiply all subscripts by

3 to obtain C3H4O3 as the empirical formula for ascorbic acid.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1.
Directions: Complete the table below by giving the empirical for each given
compound:
Compound Empirical formula
C4H8
C2H6O2
WO2
N4O10
C8H18
C6H6
Te4I16

Activity 2.
Directions: Determine the empirical formula given the percentage composition by
mass of each compound.
Compound % Composition (by mass) Empirical
Formula
Chemical Y 71.2% Se, 28.8% O
Glucose 40.00% C, 6.71% H, 53.29% O
Chemical Z 62.2% Se, 37.8% O
Acetic Acid 40.00% C, 6.71% H, 53.29% O
Chemical W 18.7% Li, 16.3% C, 65% O
Chemical X 92.26 % C, 7.74% H
Benzamide 69.40% C,5.825% H,13.21% O,11.57% N
Rubbing alcohol 60.0% C, 13.4% H, 26.6% O
Activity 3.
Directions: Perform the needed calculations for these problems. Show your
complete calculations in a clean sheet of paper. Encircle your final answer

1. A certain compound is accidentally synthesized by a chemist in a laboratory

set-up. He discovers that it is consist of 74.0 % mercury and 26.0 %
chlorine. Determine the empirical formula of the compound if we assume
that 100 g of the compound is produced. Molar mass: Hg= 200.6 g/mol,
Cl= 35.3 g/mol

2. Determine the empirical formula of a compound having the following percent

composition by mass: K: 24.75%; Mn: 34.77%; O: 40.51%.
Molar mass: O= 15.99 g/mol, K= 39.09 g/mol, Mn= 54.94 g/mol

3. Allicin is a compound known to be the cause of the distinct smell of garlic. If an

analysis of the compound gives the following percent composition by mass: C: 44.4%;
H: 6.21%; S: 39.5%; O: 9.86%. Determine its empirical formula.
Molar mass: C= 12.0 g/mol, H= 1.0 g/mol , S=32.07 g/mol, O= 15.99 g/mol

4. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is also known as “vetsin” is a common food

flavor enhancer used in both Filipino and Chinese cuisines. MSG has the
following composition by mass: 35.51% C, 4.77% H, 37.85% O, 8.29% N, and
13.60% Na. Determine the empirical formula of vetsin. Molar mass: C= 12.0 g/mol,
H= 1.0 g/mol
, N=14.0 g/mol, O= 15.99 g/mol, Na= 22.99 g/mol

WRAP–UP

Directions: Supply the needed terms on the concepts below to summarize our lesson.

(1) is a type of formula that shows the simplest ratio of

one atom to another in a particular compound. This usually shows the (2)
term of the subscripts of the elements present in the partcular compound. (3) The
empirical formula can be deduced by using the information about the
of a particular compound. (4) Given the mass composition, it is assumed that the
total mass of the compound is g. In calculating the empirical formula of a
compound, factor is multiplied to the subscripts of the elements in the compound in
order to get a (5) number as the subscripts of the empirical formula.
 VALUING

You learned that subscripts of a chemical formula can be reduced to lowest

terms to get the empirical formula. How about you? Let us try to have a self-
evaluation. Try to think any aspect on your life wherein you decided to reduce
something during this quarantine period. Write your answer in a separate sheet of
paper in a paragraph form.

POST TEST

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.
1.
Which of the following is the empirical formula of this compound (C6H14)?
A. CH B. CH3
2

C. CH D. C3H7

2.
A. 100g sample of a compound is composed of 16.3 g of carbon, 32.1 g of
chlorine, and 51.6 of fluorine. The empirical formula of the compound is
A. CClF B. CClF3
C. C2Cl2F4 D. C2Cl2F6

3.
This formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms in a
compound is
A.
Ideal Formula B. Molecular Formula
C. Empirical Formula D. Structural Formula

4.
What is the empirical formula for a compound that is 36.1% Ca and 63.9% Cl?
A.
CaCl B. Ca2Cl
C. CaCl2 D. Ca2Cl3

5.
In a chemical formula, the subscripts in every element present in a compound
indicate
A.
the formula mass of the compound
B.
the number of atoms or ions of each type
C.
charges of the elements or ions
D.
number of protons in each element
 REFERENES
Atkins, Peter, Lorreta Jones, and Leroy Laverman. 2013. Chemical Principles: The
Quest for Insight. 6th. W.H. Freeman.

Bautista, Guillermo. n.d. Math and Multimedia. Accessed July 15, 2020.
http://mathandmultimedia.com/2014/03/29/fractions-lowest-terms/.
Brown, Theodore L., H. Eugene LeMay Jr. , Bruce E. Bursten , Catherine J.
Murphy, Patrick M. Woodward, and Matthew W. Stoltzfus. 2015. Chemistry:
The Central Science. 13th. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Chang, Raymond. 2007. General Chemistry: The Essenstial Concepts. 9th. New
York, New York: McGraw Hill Higher Education.
n.d. Coca Cola . Accessed July 15, 2020. https://www.coca-cola.co.uk/our-
business/faqs/why-is-phosphoric-acid-used-in-coca-cola-drinks-diet-coke-
coke-zero.