A compound that is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen contains 70.6% C, 5.9% H, and 23.5% O by mass. The molecular weight of the compound is 136 amu. What is the molecular formula?

Answer : The molecular formula of a compound is,

Solution :

If percentage are given then we are taking total mass is 100 grams.

So, the mass of each element is equal to the percentage given.

Mass of C = 70.6 g

Mass of H = 5.9 g

Mass of O = 23.5 g

Molar mass of C = 12 g/mole

Molar mass of H = 1 g/mole

Molar mass of O = 16 g/mole

Step 1 : convert given masses into moles.

Moles of C =

Moles of H =

Moles of O =

Step 2 : For the mole ratio, divide each value of moles by the smallest number of moles calculated.

For C =

For H =

For Cl =

The ratio of C : H : O = 4 : 4 : 1

The mole ratio of the element is represented by subscripts in empirical formula.

The Empirical formula =

The empirical formula weight = 4(12) + 4(1) + 1(16) = 68 gram/eq

Now we have to calculate the molecular formula of the compound.

Formula used :

Molecular formula =

Therefore, the molecular of the compound is,

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