Question 1 of 10 eos
How does one determine an empirical formula from a percent composition?
7x
A. Convert mass percents to moles and then use the moles as
subscripts in the formula
B. Convert mass percents to moles and then divide by the smallest
mole value to get subscripts
C. Convert mass percents to grams and then divide by the smallest
gram value to find subscripts
o)
D. Convert mass percents to grams and then divide by the smallest
mass percent value to find subscripts
kamp
SUBMIT

B. Convert mass percents to moles and then divide by the smallest mole value to get subscripts

Explanation:

The empirical formula is the smallest whole number ratio the elements in a compound can possess. According to this question, to derive the empirical formula of a compound from its percent composition of elements that make it up, the following steps are followed:

- First, since the elements are in percentage, one would assume the total mass of the compound is 100g and take each percentage as the mass of each element. For example, if a compound contains 16% oxygen, it means that 16g of oxygen is present.

- Next, we convert the mass of each element to moles by dividing the mass value by the molar mass of each element. For example, 16g of oxygen will be 16g/16g/mol = 1mol

- Next, we divide each mole value by the smallest mole value to get the subscript of each element that will be used in the empirical formula.

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