- Home/
- CDS & Defence/
- Article
A compound contains 4.07% Hydrogen, 24.27% Carbon and 71.65% of Chlorine. Its molar mass Is 98.96G. What are its empirical and molecular formulas?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: September 25th, 2023
A compound contains 4.07% Hydrogen, 24.27% Carbon, and 71.65% of Chlorine. Its molar mass Is 98.96G. The empirical formula is CH2Cl, and the molecular formula is C2H4Cl2. The lowest whole number ratio of atoms present in a compound is given by the most straightforward formula or empirical formula. This formula indicates the proportion of atoms of each element in the compound.
The molecular formula is an equation that specifies how many atoms of each element there are in a single compound’s molecule. It displays the precise amount of atoms present in a molecule.
Table of content
Steps to Calculate the Empirical and Molecular Formulas
Step 1: Given
A compound contains:
Hydrogen — 4.07%
Carbon – 24.27%
Chlorine – 71.65%
Molar Mass Is 98.96G
Step 2: Evaluating Empirical Formulae
The empirical formula for each atom is created by first dividing the percentages of atoms by the molecular masses of the atoms.
Hydrogen — 4.07/1 = 4.07
Carbon – 24.27/12 = 2.02
Chlorine — 71.65/35.5 = 2.01
Divide all the values now by the result that was the lowest.
Hydrogen — 4.07/2.01 = 2
Carbon –2.02/2.01 = 1
Chlorine — 2.01/2.01 = 1
Therefore, the empirical formula is CH2Cl
Step 3: Calculation of Molecular Formulae
From the empirical formula, we can write
CH2Cl = 12 + 2 x 1 + 35.5
= 49.5
The molecular weight of 98.96 is twice as great as the empirical weight.
Hence, the molecular formula is C2H4Cl2
Summary:
A compound contains 4.07% Hydrogen, 24.27% Carbon, and 71.65% of Chlorine. Its molar mass Is 98.96G. What are its empirical and molecular formulas?
4.07% Hydrogen, 24.27% Carbon, and 71.65% Chlorine are all present in a molecule. It has a 98.96G molar mass. The empirical formula is CH2Cl, and the molecular formula is C2H4Cl2. Here the molecular weight is two times higher than the empirical weight
