Ch 3 Exercise 6

EMPIRICAL FORMULA
6. A compound contains 15.23 g of sodium, 52.98 g
1. 1.72 g of the oxide of metal M contains 0.8 g of
of bromine and 31.79 g of oxygen. Calculate the
oxygen. Find the empirical formula of the oxide.
empirical formula of the compound.
[Relative atomic mass of O = 16; M = 46]
[Relative atomic mass of Na = 23; O = 16;
Br = 80]

2. 0.30 mol of element T combines with 14.4 g of

oxygen to form oxide T. Determine the empirical
formula of oxide T.
[Relative atomic mass of O = 16]

7. A hydrocarbon compound contain 88.9% of

carbon by weight. Determine the empirical
formula of this compound.
[Relative atomic mass of C = 12; H = 1]

3. In an experiment, 2.8 g of iron combined with

3.55 g of chlorine. What is the empirical formula
of the compound formed?
[Relative atomic mass of Fe = 56; Cl = 35.5]

4. A hydrocarbon gas contains 80.0% carbon and

20.0% hydrogen by weight.
(a) What is the empirical formula of the
hydrocarbon?
(b) If the molecular mass of the hydrocarbon is
30, what is its molecular formula?
[Relative atomic mass of C = 12; H = 1]

5. When 3.20 g of the oxide of metal Y is reduced,

2.24 g of metal Y is formed. Determine the
empirical formula of oxide Y.
[Relative atomic mass of Y = 56; O = 16]

8. 0.09 g of element Q combines with 0.08 g of

element T to form a compound with empirical
formula Q2T3.
(a) What is the relative atomic mass of element
Q?
(b) What is the mass of Q that can be extracted
from 51 g of Q2T3?
[Relative atomic mass of T = 16]

Answers
1. M2O5

2. TO3

3. FeCl2

4. CH3; C2H6

5. Y2O3

6. NaBrO3 7. C2H3 8. 27; 27 g

Ch 3 Exercise 6

9. The following are two methods to determine the empirical formula of metal oxides in the laboratory.
Method I

: Reaction between the metal and oxygen in air

Method II : Reaction between the metal oxide and hydrogen

A student chose Method I to determine the empirical formula of the oxide of a metal M. The following data
was obtained after the experiment.
Mass of crucible and crucible lid
= 41.30 g
Mass of crucible and crucible lid + metal M
= 43.10 g
Mass of crucible and crucible lid + oxide of metal M = 44.30 g
(a) Draw a diagram to show the set up of the experiment.

(b) Determine the empirical formula of the oxide of metal M.

[Relative atomic mass of M = 24; O = 16]

(c) Write the chemical equation for the reaction.

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(d) What was observed during the experiment?
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(e) Predict what would have happened if the student forgot to cover the crucible.
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(f) How did the student ensure that the reaction was complete?
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(g) (i) If the student had chosen Method II to determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide, predict
what will happen.
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(ii) Explain your answer in (i).
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(h) Choose the most suitable method to determine the empirical formula of stanum(II) oxide.
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