We’re being asked to determine the empirical formula of ibuprofen, a compound composed of C, H, and O given the mass percent of C, H, and O. This means we need to do the following steps:
Step 1: Calculate the mass and moles of C, H, and O in the compound.
Step 2: Determine the lowest whole number ratio of C, H, and O to get the empirical formula.
Step 1: The compound is composed of C, H, O we’re given the mass percent of C (75.69% C), H (8.80% H) and O (15.51 % O).
Recall that mass percent is given by:
Assuming we have 100 g of the compound, this means we have 75.69 g C, 8.80 g H, and 15.51 g O.
Ibuprofen has the following mass percent composition. What is the empirical formula of ibuprofen?
C: 75.69%
H: 8.80%
O: 15.51%
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