EXAMPLE A
The empirical formula of a chemical compound is a representation of the simplest whole
number ratio between the elements comprising the compound. The molecular formula is the
representation of the actual whole number ratio between the elements of the compound.
This step by step tutorial shows how to calculate the empirical and molecular formulas for a
compound.
A molecule with molecular weight of 180.18 g/mol is analyzed and found to contain 40.00%
carbon, 6.72% hydrogen and 53.28% oxygen
Solution::
Finding the empirical and molecular formula is basically the reverse process used to
calculate mass percent.
Step 1: Find the number of moles of each element in a sample of the molecule.
Our molecule contains 40.00% carbon, 6.72% hydrogen and 53.28% oxygen. This means a
100 gram sample contains:
40.00 grams of carbon (40.00% of 100 grams)
6.72 grams of hydrogen (6.72% of 100 grams)
53.28 grams of oxygen (53.28% of 100 grams)
Note: 100 grams is used for a sample size just to make the math easier. Any sample size
could be used, the ratios between the elements will remain the same.
Using these numbers we can find the number of moles of each element in the 100 gram
sample. Divide the number of grams of each element in the sample by the atomic weight of
the element (from the periodic table) to find the number of moles.
moles C = 40.00 g x 1 mol C/12.01 g/mol C = 3.33 moles C
moles H = 6.72 g x 1 mol H/1.01 g/mol H = 6.65 moles H
moles O = 53.28 g x 1 mol O/16.00 g/mol O = 3.33 moles O
Step 2: Find the ratios between the number of moles of each element.
Select the element with the largest number of moles in the sample.
In this case, the 6.65 moles of hydrogen is the largest. Divide the number of moles of each
element by the largest number.
Simplest mole ratio between C and H: 3.33 mol C/6.65 mol H = 1 mol C/2 mol H
The ratio is 1 mole C for every 2 moles H
Simplest ratio between O and H: 3.33 moles O/6.65 moles H = 1 mol O/2 mol H
The ratio between O and H is 1 mole O for every 2 moles of H
Step 3: Find the empirical formula.
We have all the information we need to write the empirical formula. For every 2 moles of
hydrogen, there is one mole of carbon and one mole of oxygen.
The empirical formula is CH2O.
EXAMPLE B
The empirical formula in chemistry provides the relative numbers of each type of atom in a
particular molecule. It does not provide the exact number of each type of atom in the
molecule, nor does it provide any information on the arrangement of those atoms. The
empirical formula is used extensively in stoichiometry, a branch of analytical chemistry
which studies the composition of reactants and products in chemical reactions. You can
calculate the empirical formula of a compound from the amount of each element that is in a
given sample of the compound.
Step 1
Determine the mass of each element in a compound. These values are obtained
experimentally, typically by conducting a series of reactions that break the compound down
into its constituent elements. For this example, assume that we have 13.5 grams (g) of
calcium (Ca), 10.8 g of oxygen (O) and 0.675 g of hydrogen (H).
Step 2
Determine the number of grams in a mole (mol) of each element. This is given as the atomic
weight of the element and is available from a periodic table. In this example, the atomic
weight of Ca is 40.1, the atomic weight of O is 16.0 and the atomic weight of H is 1.01.
Step 3
Calculate the number of moles of each element in the compound. For example, 13.5 g Ca /
(40.1 g/mol Ca) = 0.337 mol Ca, 10.8 g O / (16.0 g/mol O) = 0.675 mol O and 0.675 g H /
(1.01 g/mol H) = 0.668 mol H.
Step 4
Determine the ratio of the elements in the compound. Divide the molar amount of each
element by the smallest quantity. In this case, the smallest quantity is for calcium at 0.337
mol. By dividing each molar amount by 0.337 mol, we get 0.337/0.337 = one for calcium,
0.675/0.337 = about two for oxygen and 0.668/0.337 = about two for hydrogen.
Step 5
Express the empirical formula for the sample. From Step 4, we know there are two atoms of
oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen for each atom of calcium. The empirical formula for the
sample compound is therefore CaO2H2.
Adopted from about education
