Maleic acid is an organic compound composed of 41.39% C, 3.47% H, and the rest oxygen. If 0.250 mol of maleic acid has a mass of 29.0 g, what are the empirical and molecular formulas of maleic acid?

Take 100 g sample to give

41.39 g C
3.47 g H
100 - (41.39+3.47) g O

Convert each to moles.
Find the ratio of the elements to each other in small whole numbers. An easy way to do that is to divide the smallest number by itself, then divide the others numbers by the same small number then round them to a whole number. This will be the empirical formula.
To find the molecular formula, first use moles = g/molar mass and solve for molar mass. Then divide the molar mass by the empirical formula mass, and round to a whole number. Post your work if you get stuck.

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To determine the empirical formula of maleic acid, we need to find the ratio of the elements in the compound.

Let's assume we have 100 grams of maleic acid. From the given percentages, we can calculate the mass of each element:

Mass of carbon (C) = 41.39 g
Mass of hydrogen (H) = 3.47 g
Mass of oxygen (O) = 100 g - (41.39 g + 3.47 g) = 55.14 g

Next, let's convert the mass of each element into moles:

Moles of carbon (C) = 41.39 g / 12.01 g/mol = 3.44 mol
Moles of hydrogen (H) = 3.47 g / 1.008 g/mol = 3.44 mol
Moles of oxygen (O) = 55.14 g / 16.00 g/mol = 3.45 mol

Now, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio between the elements. In this case, all the moles are approximately the same (3.44), so we can multiply them by a factor that makes all the values close to integers:

Moles of carbon (C) = 3.44 x 1 = 3.44 mol
Moles of hydrogen (H) = 3.44 x 1 = 3.44 mol
Moles of oxygen (O) ≈ 3.44 x 1 ≈ 3.44 mol

The empirical formula of maleic acid is C3H4O3 because the ratio of the elements is approximately 3:4:3.

To find the molecular formula, we need to know the molar mass of maleic acid. The molar mass is given as 29.0 g/mol for 0.250 mol of maleic acid.

The formula mass of the empirical formula (C3H4O3) can be calculated as:

Formula mass = (3 x molar mass of Carbon) + (4 x molar mass of Hydrogen) + (3 x molar mass of Oxygen)
= (3 x 12.01 g/mol) + (4 x 1.008 g/mol) + (3 x 16.00 g/mol)
= 90.04 g/mol

The molecular formula is found by dividing the molar mass of maleic acid (29.0 g/mol) by the formula mass of the empirical formula (90.04 g/mol):

Molecular formula = (29.0 g/mol) / (90.04 g/mol)
≈ 0.32

Since the result is approximately 0.32, we can multiply all the subscripts in the empirical formula by 3, which gives us:

Molecular formula = C9H12O9

Therefore, the empirical formula of maleic acid is C3H4O3, and the molecular formula is C9H12O9.