How would you find the molecular formula from empirical formula?
1 Answer
Jan 31, 2016
You need an idea of the molecular mass.
Explanation:
The molecular formula is ALWAYS a multiple of the empirical formula.
Let's say we analyzed napthalene (
In other experiment (perhaps mass spectroscopy), we could discover that the molecular mass of napthalene was
So, given that the molecular formula is a multiple of the empirical formula we KNOW that
From above