Question

Determine the empirical formula of a compound that contains 0.171 g of carbon combined with 0.471 g of oxygen.

Answer 1

moles C = g/atomic mass C

moles O = g/atomic mass O

Now find the ratio of these to each other with the smaller value being 1.00. The easy way to do that is to divide the smaller by itself, then divide the other value by the same small number. Round to whole number and that will be the empirical formula.