Questions: A compound containing Na, C, and O is found to have 1.06 mol Na, 0.528 mol C, and 1.59 mol O. What is the empirical formula of the compound?

Transcript text: A compound containing $\mathrm{Na}, \mathrm{C}$, and O is found to have $1.06 \mathrm{~mol} \mathrm{Na}, 0.528 \mathrm{~mol} \mathrm{C}$, and 1.59 mol O . What is the empirical formula of the compound?

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Determine the Mole Ratio

To find the empirical formula, we need to determine the simplest whole number ratio of moles of each element in the compound. We have the following moles for each element:

Na: 1.06 mol
C: 0.528 mol
O: 1.59 mol

Step 2: Divide by the Smallest Number of Moles

Divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles among them, which is 0.528 mol (for C).