SLIDE 36 Slide 135 / 158 Calculating Empirical Formulas
The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (listed as PABA in bottles of sunscreen) is composed of the following elements (by mass): carbon (61.31%), hydrogen (5.14%), nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%). Find the empirical formula of PABA.
Mass % elements
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Step 1: convert the mass percentages to mole amounts in a hypothetical 100 g sample. Assume a 100.00 g amount of PABA to represent the mass of each element: C: 61.31% x 100g = 61.31 g H: 5.14 % x 100g = 5.14 g N: 10.21% x 100g = 10.21 g O: 23.33 % x 100g = 23.33 g
Mass % elements Grams of each element Assume 100g sample
Calculating Empirical Formulas
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Step 2: Now that we know the representative mass, we can use the molar mass of each element to calculate the number
- f moles that would be present.
C: 61.31 g x = 5.105 mol H: 5.14 g x = 5.09 mol N: 10.21 g x = 0.7288 mol O: 23.33 g x = 1.456 mol 1 mol 12.01 g 1 mol 14.01 g 1 mol 1.01 g 1 mol 16.00 g
Calculating Empirical Formulas
Mass % elements Grams of each element Moles of each element Assume 100g sample use molar mass
Slide 138 / 158 Calculating Empirical Formulas
Step 3: Calculate the mole ratio by dividing each mole value by the smallest number of moles. In this case, by that of nitrogen. Divide them all by 0.7288. C: 5.105 mol H: 5.09 mol N: 0.7288 mol O: 1.456 mol 0.7288 mol 0.7288 mol 0.7288 mol 5.105 mol 5.09 mol 0.7288 mol 1.456 mol = 7.005 # 7 = 6.984 # 7 = 1.00 = 1 = 2.001 # 2 0.7288 mol
Mass % elements Grams of each element Moles of each element Empirical formula Assume 100g sample use molar mass Calculate mole ratio
The empirical formula for PABA is C
7H7NO2
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C: 62.1 g x = 5.17 mol = 5.17 mol = 3.01 3 H: 13.8 g x = 13.8 mol = 13.8 mol = 7.96 8 N: 24.1 g x = 1.72 mol = 1.72 mol = 1.00 = 1 1 mol 14.01 g 1 mol 12 .0 g 1 mol 1.0 g 1.72 mol 1.72 mol 1.72 mol # #
The empirical formula is C3H8N
1,6 - diaminohexane is used in making nylon. It is 62.1% C, 13.8% H and 24.1% N. What is the empirical formula?
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77 What is the empirical formula for a compound with
the following percent composition? A C H4 B C2 H5 C C3 H6 D C3 H8
C: 74.9 % H: 25.1 %