What is the empirical formula of a compound that contains 27.0%S, 13.4%O,and 59.6%Cl by mass?
give the answer asswhole
To find the empirical formula, we need to determine the ratio of atoms present in the compound.
Step 1: Convert the percentages to grams.
- Sulfur (S): 27.0% of the total mass, so 27.0g
- Oxygen (O): 13.4% of the total mass, so 13.4g
- Chlorine (Cl): 59.6% of the total mass, so 59.6g
Step 2: Convert grams to moles.
- Sulfur (S): Atomic mass of sulfur = 32.06 g/mol
Moles of S = 27.0g / 32.06 g/mol = 0.842 mol
- Oxygen (O): Atomic mass of oxygen = 16.00 g/mol
Moles of O = 13.4g / 16.00 g/mol = 0.8375 mol
- Chlorine (Cl): Atomic mass of chlorine = 35.45 g/mol
Moles of Cl = 59.6g / 35.45 g/mol = 1.680 mol
Step 3: Divide each of the moles by the smallest number of moles.
The smallest number of moles is 0.8375 mol (Oxygen).
- Sulfur (S): 0.842 mol / 0.8375 mol = 1.006 ≈ 1
- Oxygen (O): 0.8375 mol / 0.8375 mol = 1
- Chlorine (Cl): 1.680 mol / 0.8375 mol = 2
Step 4: Write the empirical formula using the obtained ratios.
The empirical formula of the compound is SO2Cl2, indicating that there are two chlorine atoms, two oxygen atoms, and one sulfur atom.
To determine the empirical formula of a compound, we need to determine the ratio between the different elements in the compound.
Step 1: Convert the percentages to grams.
27.0% S = 27.0 grams
13.4% O = 13.4 grams
59.6% Cl = 59.6 grams
Step 2: Convert the grams of each element to moles.
To convert grams to moles, divide the mass of each element by its atomic mass.
Atomic masses: S = 32.1 g/mol, O = 16.0 g/mol, Cl = 35.5 g/mol
27.0 grams S * (1 mol S / 32.1 grams S) = 0.841 moles S
13.4 grams O * (1 mol O / 16.0 grams O) = 0.8375 moles O
59.6 grams Cl * (1 mol Cl / 35.5 grams Cl) = 1.68 moles Cl
Step 3: Divide each mole value by the smallest number of moles.
The mole ratio is used to determine the empirical formula. Since the smallest number of moles is 0.8375 moles of O, we will divide each value by 0.8375.
0.841 moles S / 0.8375 moles O ≈ 1 mole S
0.8375 moles O / 0.8375 moles O = 1 mole O
1.68 moles Cl / 0.8375 moles O ≈ 2 moles Cl
Step 4: Simplify the ratio, if necessary.
In this case, the ratio is already simplified to 1:1:2. Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is SOCl2.
Take a 100 g sample which will give you
27.0g S
13.4 g O and
59.6g Cl
Now convert grams to moles. moles = grams/molar mass
Then find the molar ratio of the elements to each other with the smallest number being 1.00. You can do that easily by dividing the smallest number by itself and you know that one will be 1.00. Then divide the other numbers by the same small number. Finally round to the nearest whole number and formula will be
SxOyClz where x,y, and z are the mole ratios.
Post your work if you get stuck.