Identify the molecule having empirical formula ch2o

Video Transcript An organic compound has a molar mass of 60 grams per mole and the empirical formula CH2O. If the molar mass of CH2O is 30 grams per mole, what is the molecular formula of the organic compound? A molecular formula is a chemical formula that expresses the exact number of atoms of each element in a molecule. For example, the organic compound but-1-ene has a molecular formula of C4H8, meaning that a molecule of but-1-ene contains four atoms of carbon and eight atoms of hydrogen. An empirical formula is a chemical formula that expresses the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element in a molecule or ionic compound. The ratio of carbon atoms to hydrogen atoms in a molecule but-1-ene is four to eight. Since an empirical formula expresses the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element, we can divide each of the subscripts by their greatest common factor to simplify the ratio and determine that the empirical formula of but-1-ene is CH2. So to go from the molecular formula of but-1-ene to the empirical formula, we divide each subscript in the molecular formula by four. And if we wanted to go from the empirical formula of but-1-ene to the molecular formula, we would multiply each subscript in the empirical formula by four. In this question, we know we have an organic compound that has an empirical formula of CH2O. We want to determine the molecular formula from the example. We know that we can get the molecular formula from the empirical formula b...

Learning Objectives • Define empirical formula. • Determine empirical formula from percent composition of a compound. In the early days of chemistry, there were few tools for the detailed study of compounds. Much of the information regarding the composition of compounds came from the elemental analysis of inorganic materials. The "new" field of organic chemistry (the study of carbon compounds) faced the challenge of not being able to characterize a compound completely. The relative amounts of elements could be determined, but so many of these materials had carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and possibly nitrogen in simple ratios. We did not know exactly how many of these atoms were actually in a specific molecule. Determining Empirical Formulas An empirical formula tells us the relative ratios of different atoms in a compound. The ratios hold true on the molar level as well. Thus, H 2O is composed of two atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen. Likewise, 1.0 mole of H 2O is composed of 2.0 moles of hydrogen and 1.0 mole of oxygen. We can also work backwards from molar ratios because if we know the molar amounts of each element in a compound, we can determine the empirical formula. In a procedure called , an unknown compound can be analyzed in the laboratory in order to determine the percentages of each element contained within it. These percentages can be transformed into the mole ratio of the elements, which leads to the empirical formula. Empirical Formula: In Steps Steps to deter...

Cite this page as follows: "An empirical formula of a compound is CH2O and the molecular weight of the compound is 180.18. What is the molecular formula of the compound." eNotes Editorial, 31 Jan. 2012, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/an-empirical-formula-ch20-moelcular-weight-180-18-311237. Accessed 15 June 2023. icon-close The empirical formula of a chemical compound is CH2O. The molar mass of carbon is 12, the molar mass of hydrogen is 1 and the molar mass of oxygen is 16. The empirical formula of a compound is the simplest integer ratio of the number of atoms of each element present in the compound. The given chemical compound has 2 atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen for each atom of carbon. The mass of CH2O is 12 + 2*1 + 16 = 30. The molecular weight of the compound is 180.18 which is approximately 180. This gives the molecular formula of the chemical compound as C6H12O6. The required molecular formula is C6H12O6 See eNotes Ad-Free