Answer :
Final answer:
The empirical formula of a compound composed of 35.9 g of potassium (K) and 7.35 g of oxygen (O) is K2O. This is obtained by calculating the ratio of moles for each element, and then expressing this ratio in the simplest form as subscripts.
Explanation:
The empirical formula of a compound refers to the simplest ratio of elements present in the compound. In this case, we have potassium (K) and oxygen (O) in the compound. To find the empirical formula:
- Determine the number of moles for each element. Using the atomic masses of potassium (K = 39.1 g/mol) and oxygen (O = 16.0 g/mol), we have 35.9 g ÷ 39.1 g/mol ≈ 0.92 moles of K and 7.35 g ÷ 16.0 g/mol ≈ 0.46 moles of O.
- Calculate the simplest ratio of the moles by dividing each value by the smallest number of moles calculated in the previous step, 0.46. Hence, we have 0.92/0.46 ≈ 2 and 0.46/0.46 = 1.
- Write out the empirical formula using these numbers as subscripts. The empirical formula is therefore K2O.
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