An acid is comprised of 0.2g hydrogen, 7.1g chlorine and 12.8g oxygen. What is the most likely formula for this acid.
Convert g to moles and find the ratio, in whole numbers. The easiest way to do that is to divide the smallest number by itself, then divide all the other molar quantities by that same small number. Post your work if you get stuck.
im not getting an answer
moles H = 0.2/1 = 0.2
moles Cl = 7.1/35.457 = 0.2
moles O = 12.8/16 = 0.8
So the empirical formula is
H0.2Cl0.2O0.8 BUT formulas are denoted with small whole numbers for the subscripts. So change all of them to make them into whole numbers AND keep the ratio the same. I repeat, the easiest way to do this is to divide the smallest number by itself, then divide the other two numbers by the same small number. You should come out with 3 small whole numbers.
To determine the most likely formula for the acid, we need to calculate the number of moles of each element in the given compounds. Then, we can find the ratio between the elements to determine the empirical formula.
Let's calculate the number of moles for each element:
The molar mass of hydrogen (H) is 1 g/mol.
Number of moles of hydrogen = mass of hydrogen / molar mass of hydrogen
Number of moles of hydrogen = 0.2 g / 1 g/mol = 0.2 mol
The molar mass of chlorine (Cl) is 35.5 g/mol.
Number of moles of chlorine = mass of chlorine / molar mass of chlorine
Number of moles of chlorine = 7.1 g / 35.5 g/mol ≈ 0.2 mol
The molar mass of oxygen (O) is 16 g/mol.
Number of moles of oxygen = mass of oxygen / molar mass of oxygen
Number of moles of oxygen = 12.8 g / 16 g/mol ≈ 0.8 mol
Next, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio of the moles to determine the empirical formula. In this case, it appears that the ratio is approximately 1:1:4 (H:Cl:O).
Therefore, the most likely empirical formula for this acid is HClO4, where there is one hydrogen atom, one chlorine atom, and four oxygen atoms.
Please note that without additional information, this is only the most likely formula. Depending on the composition and other factors, alternative formulas may exist.