What is the emperical formula of a compound that contains 0.04moles of sodium, 0.04moles of sulphur, and 0.06moles of oxygen?

1 answer

Divide by the smallest to get 1.00 for the lowest number.
0.04/0.04 = 1.00
0.04/0.04 = 1.00
0.06/-0.04 = 1.50
So we would write NaSO1.5 BUT we want whole numbers; therefore, we can multiply by 2 to obtain 2:2:3 for Na2S2O3 which is sodium thiosulfate.