Question #cd9fe

1 Answer
Nov 3, 2017

The molecular formula is C_12H_10O_2.

Explanation:

In this question, we have given a compound with molecular formula C_(6x)H_(5x)O_x. It can also be written as:

xC_(6)H_(5)O

where x is an empirical unit and C_(6)H_(5)O is an empirical formula.

Here, we can use an empirical unit formula to find the value of x.

x=frac("molecular mass")("empirical mass")

The empirical mass of C_(6)H_(5)O is given by:

=6x12.01 "g/mol"+ 5x1.008 "g/mol"+ 1x16"g/mol" = 93.1 "g/mol"

Now,

x=frac("186 g/mol")("93.1 g/mol") = 1.997 \approx 2

Therefore the molecular formula is: C_(12)H_(10)O_2.