Question

What are the empirical and molecular formulas of maleic acid?

Answer 1

Molecular formula: `"C"_4"H"_4"O"_4`

Empirical formula: `"CHO"`

Explanation:

Maleic acid has the `sfcolor(red)("molecular formula"`

`color(red)(ulbar(|stackrel(" ")(" " "C"_4"H"_4"O"_4" ")|)`

The `sfcolor(blue)("empirical formula"` is derived by finding the greatest common factor of the subscripts in the molecular formula.

The subscripts are

• `4` (carbon)

• `4` (hydrogen)

• `4` (oxygen)

So the greatest common divisor is `4`, and we divide each subscript by `4` to find the `sfcolor(blue)("empirical formula"`:

`"C"_(4"/"4)"H"_(4"/"4)"O"_(4"/"4)`

which simplifies to

`color(blue)(ulbar(|stackrel(" ")(" ""CHO"" ")|)`