Question

a compound is found to consist of 94.08% oxygen and 5.92% hydrogen. what is the empirical formula of this compound? please enter your answers as numerical digits (i.e. 9). if any of your answers are 1, please write this even though the number 1 is generally assumed in chemical formulas.

Explanation:

Step1: Assume 100g of the compound

Since the percentages are given, assuming 100g of the compound means we have 94.08g of oxygen and 5.92g of hydrogen.

Step2: Calculate the number of moles of each element

The molar mass of hydrogen ($H$) is approximately 1 g/mol and the molar mass of oxygen ($O$) is approximately 16 g/mol.
The number of moles of hydrogen $n_H=\frac{5.92g}{1g/mol}=5.92mol$.
The number of moles of oxygen $n_O=\frac{94.08g}{16g/mol}=5.88mol$.

Step3: Find the mole - ratio

Divide each number of moles by the smaller number of moles. Here, the smaller number of moles is approximately 5.88mol.
For hydrogen: $\frac{5.92mol}{5.88mol}\approx1$.
For oxygen: $\frac{5.88mol}{5.88mol} = 1$.

Answer:

1
1