11 - Empirical and Molecular Formula SCH3U – Quantities in Chemistry

Date: ______________________________________________

Determining Chemical Formulae

We know how to determine the percentage composition by mass of a compound
More interestingly, we can do this without knowing the formula
We know that compounds are made of different elements combining in __________________
_______________________________________
How can we determine the formula, using quantitative lab data?

Empirical Formula
The empirical formula of a compound is the simplest _______________________________________
of the atoms making up that particular compound
It gives the ___________________________________ of moles of each type of atom in a compound
It is NOT representative of the way the molecule is ________________________________
Plan:
Calculate the number of ________________ of each element
Find the _______________ of the elements
Adjust to ____________________________________________

Example:
Scooby-Doo found a mysterious bag of gas in the lunchroom. Firmly believing that aliens
were trying to poison him, he took the bag to Velma who performed an analysis and found
the gas contained 42.86% carbon and 57.14% oxygen. Calculate the empirical formula.

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11 - Empirical and Molecular Formula SCH3U – Quantities in Chemistry

Example:
A pigment used in ceramics was found to contain 69.58% Ba, 6.09% C and 24.32% O.
Determine the empirical formula.

Molecular Formula
The molecular formula gives the ______________________________ of the elements which make
up a compound
Remember that the empirical formula gives the ___________________________________ of the
elements in a compound
The molecular formula will always be a simple _______________________________________________
of the empirical formula
For example, the molecular formula of benzene is C6H6. The empirical formula is CH.
Glucose has a molecular formula of C6H12O6. What is the empirical formula?

Example:
A compound was found to have the empirical formula CH. Wile E. Coyote uses a mass
spectrograph to determine that the molecular mass of the unknown hydrocarbon is
26.0 g/mol. Determine the molecular formula.

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11 - Empirical and Molecular Formula SCH3U – Quantities in Chemistry

Example:
A certain sugar which Mr. Lee used to bake cookies was found to contain 40.0% C, 6.67% H
and 53.3% O. The molecular mass was 180.0 amu. Determine the molecular formula.

Example:
Dianabol is one of the anabolic steroids that has been used by some athletes to increase the
size and strength of their muscles. The molecular formula of Dianabol, which consists of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, can be determined using the data from two different
experiments. In the first experiment, 14.765 g of Dianabol is burned, and 43.257 g CO2 and
12.395 g H2O are formed. In the second experiment, the molecular mass of Dianabol is
found to be 300.44 g/mol. What is the molecular formula for Dianabol?

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11 - Empirical and Molecular Formula SCH3U – Quantities in Chemistry

Homework
1. Aspirin is also known as acetylsalicylic acid. Ina had a headache from doing chemistry,
so she decided to analyze a sample. She found that aspirin is 60.00% carbon, 35.53%
oxygen and the rest is hydrogen. What is the empirical formula of aspirin?

2. Docosanol is the generic name for the drug Abreva which is used to treat cold sores. It
was found to be 80.90% carbon, 4.899% oxygen, and the rest was hydrogen. If the
molecular mass of docosanol is 326.6 amu, what is the molecular formula of docosanol?

3. Accutane was a pimple medication that has been removed from the market. It was
found to be 79.95% carbon, 10.65% oxygen and the rest was hydrogen. If the molar
mass of accutane is 300.44 g/mol, what is the molecular formula?

4. Tylenol is the brand name for acetaminophen. It was found to contain, 63.56% carbon,
9.268% nitrogen, 21.17% oxygen and 6.013% hydrogen. What is the empirical formula
of Tylenol?

5. The formula of ibuprofen is C13H16O2. What is the percent composition of ibuprofen?

6. Singulair is an asthma medication developed at Merck Frosst in Montreal. It has a

molar mass of 586.184 g/mol. It is 71.71% carbon, 6.203% hydrogen, 6.048% chlorine,
2.390% nitrogen, 8.189% oxygen and 5.461% sulphur. What is the molecular formula
of Singulair?

Answers
1. C9H8O4
2. C22H46O
3. C20H28O2
4. C8H9NO2
5. C – 76.43%
H – 7.910%
O – 15.66%
6. C35H36Cl1N1O3S1

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