An unknown compound has a percent composition of 52.10% potassium, 15.8% carbon, and 32.1% oxygen. The molar mass of the compound is 150.22 g/mol. What is the empirical formula and the molecular formula of this compound?
1 Answer
The empirical formula is
Explanation:
As is typical with these questions, we assume
Now if we divide thru by the lowest molar quantity, we get
But
Thus, solving for
Clearly,
This corresponds to no reasonable formula I know;