Answer: The possible molecular formula will be [tex]CO_2[/tex]
Explanation:
Mass of C= 27.3 g
Mass of O = 72.7 g
Step 1 : convert given masses into moles.
Moles of C =[tex]\frac{\text{ given mass of C}}{\text{ molar mass of C}}= \frac{27.3g}{12g/mole}=2.275moles[/tex]
Moles of O =[tex]\frac{\text{ given mass of O}}{\text{ molar mass of O}}= \frac{72.7g}{16g/mole}=4.544moles[/tex]
Step 2 : For the mole ratio, divide each value of moles by the smallest number of moles calculated.
For C = [tex]\frac{2.275}{2.275}=1[/tex]
For O =[tex]\frac{4.544}{2.275}=2[/tex]
The ratio of C : O = 1: 2
Hence the empirical formula is [tex]CO_2[/tex]
The possible molecular formula will be=[tex]n\times CO_2[/tex]
