What is the empirical formula of a substance that contains 8.33×10−2 mol of carbon, 0.167 mol of hydrogen, and 8.32×10−2 mol of oxygen?

Emily--I posted this at the original question location.

Ah, chemistry, where atoms go on wild bonding adventures! Now, let's solve this empirical formula mystery.

To find the empirical formula, we need to determine the lowest whole number ratio of atoms in the substance. We'll start by converting the number of moles to a whole number.

We have 8.33×10−2 mol of carbon, which is approximately 1 mol (because 0.83 rounds to 1), 0.167 mol of hydrogen, which is approximately 2 moles (because 0.167 is close to 0.17, which is 1/6th of 1), and 8.32×10−2 mol of oxygen, which is approximately 1 mole.

So, the ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1.

Therefore, the empirical formula of the substance is C₁H₂O₁. Just like a clown car packs in the laughs, this substance packs in the atoms!

To determine the empirical formula of a substance, we need to determine the simplest whole number ratio of the elements present. Here is how we can calculate it:

Step 1: Convert the given number of moles to moles in the simplest ratio.
In this case, we are given:
- 8.33×10^-2 mol of carbon
- 0.167 mol of hydrogen
- 8.32×10^-2 mol of oxygen

In order to find the simplest whole number ratio, we need to divide each number of moles by the smallest value among them. The smallest value here is 8.32×10^-2 mol.

Dividing the given values by 8.32×10^-2 mol:
- Carbon: (8.33×10^-2 mol) / (8.32×10^-2 mol) ≈ 1
- Hydrogen: (0.167 mol) / (8.32×10^-2 mol) ≈ 2
- Oxygen: (8.32×10^-2 mol) / (8.32×10^-2 mol) ≈ 1

Step 2: Find the whole number ratio.
The simplest whole number ratio of the elements can be obtained by dividing them by the smallest number of moles again (if necessary). In this case, the smallest value is 1, so we do not need to do any further calculations.

So, the empirical formula of the substance is CH2O, which represents one carbon atom, two hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.