What is the empirical formula for a molecule containing 52.20 grams manganese (Mn0 and 3.80 grams of Carbon (c)?
Mn3C
To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the ratio of the elements present in the molecule. Here are the steps:
1. Convert the given masses of the elements to moles using their atomic masses:
- Moles of Mn = mass of Mn / atomic mass of Mn
- Moles of C = mass of C / atomic mass of C
The atomic mass of Mn is approximately 54.94 g/mol, and the atomic mass of C is approximately 12.01 g/mol.
2. Divide the number of moles by the smallest number of moles calculated above to obtain the simplest whole number ratio. To do this, divide both numbers by the smaller of the two. You may need to round to the nearest whole number.
3. The resulting whole numbers represent the subscripts in the empirical formula.
Let's do the calculations:
1. Moles of Mn = 52.20 g / 54.94 g/mol = 0.949 mol
Moles of C = 3.80 g / 12.01 g/mol = 0.316 mol
2. Divide both numbers by 0.316 (the smaller number):
0.949 mol / 0.316 mol = 3.00
0.316 mol / 0.316 mol = 1.00
3. Round the ratios to the nearest whole number:
The empirical formula is Mn3C.
To determine the empirical formula, you need to find the ratio of the elements in the molecule. Here are the steps to calculate it:
1. Convert the given masses of each element into moles by dividing them by their respective molar masses.
- Molar mass of manganese (Mn) = 54.94 g/mol
- Molar mass of carbon (C) = 12.01 g/mol
Moles of Mn = 52.20 g / 54.94 g/mol
Moles of C = 3.80 g / 12.01 g/mol
2. Divide the moles of each element by the smallest mole value to obtain the simplest whole number ratio.
- Smallest mole value in this case is the moles of C.
Moles of Mn / Moles of C = (52.20 g / 54.94 g/mol) / (3.80 g / 12.01 g/mol)
= (52.20 / 54.94) / (3.80 / 12.01)
= 0.948 / 0.316
Simplifying this ratio, you get:
Moles of Mn / Moles of C ≈ 3
3. Finally, write the empirical formula using the ratio calculated in the previous step.
Since the ratio of Moles of Mn to Moles of C is approximately 3, the empirical formula can be written as Mn₃C.
mols Mn = grams/atomic mass
mols C = grams/atomic mass
Now find the ratio to each other with the smallest being 1.00. The easy way to do that is to divide the smaller number by itself (which makes it 1.00), the divide the other number by the same small number. Round to whole numbers.
Post your work if you get stuck.