What's the correct empirical formula for CO2?
The correct empirical formula is CO2.
The correct molecular formula is CO2.
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The empirical formula for CO2 is a representation of the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements in a compound. In this case, CO2 indicates that there is one carbon (C) atom bonded to two oxygen (O) atoms.
To determine the empirical formula for CO2, you need to find the ratio of carbon to oxygen. One way to do this is by calculating the number of moles of each element.
The molar mass of carbon (C) is approximately 12.01 g/mol, and the molar mass of oxygen (O) is approximately 16.00 g/mol.
To calculate the number of moles, you divide the mass of each element by its molar mass. The molar mass is determined by looking at the periodic table.
For CO2, the molar mass of carbon is 12.01 g/mol, so if you have, for example, 24.02 g of carbon, that would be 2 moles of carbon (24.02 g ÷ 12.01 g/mol = 2 mol).
Similarly, for oxygen, the molar mass is 16.00 g/mol. If you have, for example, 32.00 g of oxygen, that would be 2 moles of oxygen (32.00 g ÷ 16.00 g/mol = 2 mol).
Now that you have the number of moles for each element, you can determine the simplest whole-number ratio. In this case, both carbon and oxygen have 2 moles.
Therefore, the simplest whole-number ratio of carbon to oxygen in CO2 is 1:2. Thus, the empirical formula for CO2 is CO2.