Question

WHAT IS THE EMPIRICAL FORMULA FOR A COMPOUND THAT HAS 200GRAMS. 97.30 GRAMS OF CARBON, 16.22 GRAMS OF HYDROGEN, AND THE REST IS OXYGEN?

Answer 1

Convert g to mols. mols = g/atomic mass
mols C = 97.30/12 = ?
mols H = 16.22/1 = ?
mols O = (200-16.22-97.3) = 86.48/16 = ?
Now find the ratio of each element to the others(in small whole numbers) with the smallest number being 1.00. The easy way to do that is to divide the smallest number by itself which makes sure that one is 1.00. Then divide all of the other numbers by the same small number.