The emperical formula can be calculated as follows:
mass : 4.12g of N and 0.88g of H
moles: 4.12g/14.007 and 0.88g/1.008
moles: 0.294 and 0.873
moles/smallest number: (gives the ratio of atoms)
0.294/0.294 and 0.873/0.294
1 and 2.969
1 and 3
The simplest ratio of N : H is 1 : 3
Hence the emperical formula is NH3
Explanation:
1. The emperical formula can be found by getting the simplest ratio of atoms in a molecule.
2. To get the simplest ratio of atoms we find out the number of moles of each atoms in it.
3. From the number of moles of atoms we can find the simplest ratio of each atom by dividing the number of moles by the smallest number.