Which of the following are empirical formulas?
A) Ribose (C5H10O5)
B) Ethyl Butyrate (C6H12O2)
C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5)
D) DEET (C12H17ON)
(numbers are subscripts)
All of them appear to me to be molecular formulas. The empirical formula of ribose is CH2O and for ethyl butyrate it is C3H6O. C and D don't appear to have a lowest common denominator other than 1. Check my thinking.
The empirical formula of a compound represents the simplest whole number ratio of atoms present in the compound. To determine the empirical formulas of the given compounds, we need to simplify their chemical formulas.
A) Ribose (C5H10O5)
The chemical formula of ribose is already in its empirical form because the ratio of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms is already at its simplest whole number ratio. Therefore, A) Ribose (C5H10O5) is an empirical formula.
B) Ethyl Butyrate (C6H12O2)
The molecular formula of ethyl butyrate is C6H12O2. To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio of atoms. By dividing all the subscripts in the molecular formula by their greatest common divisor (2), we get C3H6O. Therefore, B) Ethyl Butyrate (C6H12O2) is not an empirical formula.
C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5)
The molecular formula of chlorophyll is C55H72MgN4O5. To simplify it to the empirical formula, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio of atoms. However, in this case, the subscripts in the molecular formula do not have any common divisor other than 1. Therefore, C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5) is already in its simplest form, making it an empirical formula.
D) DEET (C12H17ON)
The molecular formula of DEET is C12H17ON. To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio of atoms. By dividing all the subscripts in the molecular formula by their greatest common divisor (1), we get C12H17ON. Therefore, D) DEET (C12H17ON) is already in its simplest form, making it an empirical formula.
In conclusion, the empirical formulas among the given options are:
A) Ribose (C5H10O5)
C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5)
D) DEET (C12H17ON)
To determine which of the given compounds are empirical formulas, we need to understand what an empirical formula represents. An empirical formula is the simplest ratio of the elements in a compound, which means it does not necessarily represent the actual arrangement or structure of the atoms within the molecule.
To find the empirical formula, we need to divide the number of atoms of each element by their greatest common divisor (GCD). The resulting ratio will give us the empirical formula.
Let's calculate the empirical formulas for the given compounds:
A) Ribose (C5H10O5):
To simplify the ratio, we divide all the subscripts by 5:
C5H10O5 -> CH2O
B) Ethyl Butyrate (C6H12O2):
No common factor can be divided from all the subscripts, so the empirical formula remains the same.
C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5):
Again, no common factor can be divided from all the subscripts, so the empirical formula remains the same.
D) DEET (C12H17ON):
No common factor can be divided from all the subscripts, so the empirical formula remains the same.
Therefore, the empirical formulas from the options given are:
A) Ribose (CH2O)
B) Ethyl Butyrate (C6H12O2)
C) Chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5)
D) DEET (C12H17ON)