Empirical formula of barium acetate
The empirical formula of a compound represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements in the compound. In the case of barium acetate, the chemical formula is Ba(C2H3O2)2.
To determine the empirical formula, you need to find the ratio between the number of each element present.
In barium acetate, there is one barium atom (Ba), two carbon atoms (C), four hydrogen atoms (H), and four oxygen atoms (O).
The ratio between these elements is as follows:
Ba:C:H:O
1:2:4:4
To simplify the ratio, divide all the numbers by the greatest common divisor, which is 2:
1/2:2/2:4/2:4/2
The simplified ratio is:
1:1:2:2
Therefore, the empirical formula of barium acetate is BaCH4O4.