Question

Which formula is an empirical formula?

A. N2O4

B. NH3

C. C3H6

D. P4O10

Answer 1

Hello!

The answer is:

The empirical formula is the option B. $NH_{3}$

Why?

The empirical formula of a compound is the simplest formula that can be written. On the opposite, the molecular formula involves a variant of the same compound, but it can be also simplified to an empirical formula.

$MolecularFormula=n(EmpiricalFormula)$

We are looking for a formula that cannot be simplified by dividing the number of molecules/atoms that conforms the compound.

Let's discard option by option in order to find which formula is an empirical formula (cannot be simplified)

A. $N_{2}O_{4}$

It's not an empirical formula, it's a molecular formula since it can be obtained by multiplying the empirical formula of the same compound.

$N_{2}O_{4}=2(NO_{2})$

B. $NH_{3}$

It's an empirical formula since it cannot be obtained by the multiplication of a whole number and the simplest formula. It's the simplest formula that we can find of the compound.

C. $C_{3}H_{6}$

It's not an empirical formula, it's a molecular formula since it can be obtained by multiplying the empirical formula of the same compound.

$C_{3}H_{6}=3(CH_{2})$

D. $P_{4}O_{10}$

It's not an empirical formula, it's a molecular formula since it can be obtained by multiplying the empirical formula of the same compound.

$P_{4}O_{10}=2(P_{2}O_{5})$

Hence, the empirical formula is the option B. $NH_{3}$

Have a nice day!

Answer 2

The compound that represents empirical formula is NH3.

EMPIRICAL FORMULA:

• Empirical formula refers to formula of a compound that depicts the simplest whole number ratio of its constituent element.

• The empirical ratio of the elements of a compound should not be able to be broken down further. For example: compounds such as N2O4, C3H6, and P4O10 can be further broken down into NO2, CH2 and P2O5.

• This means that NH3 is the empirical formula because it is the simplest whole number ratio of the compound.

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