calculate the empirical formula. A chemist heats 50.00g of sulfur under controlled conditions to produce a sulfer-oxygen compund.The mass of the sulfur-oxygen compound is 100.00g. What is the empirical formula of the sulfur-oxygen?

Answer 1

S + O2 ==> SxOy
S start = 50.00 grams.
SxOy = 100.00 grams.
Therefore, we must have added 50.00 g oxygen.

mols S = 50/32.066 = 1.56
moles O = 50/16 = 3.125
Now find the ratio of the two to each other. The easy way is to divide the smaller number by itself.
1.56/1.56 = 1.000 (you do this to get 1.00 and it works every time. :-),

Then divide the other number by the same small number.
3.125/1.56 = 2.004.
Now round those to whole numbers and you have the formula of S1O2 or SO2.