What is empirical formula and how is it worked out?
Empirical formula is the simplest ratio of elements in a formula. chemists use it to make big molecules easier to work with when doing calculations.
An example of a working out an empirical formula is;
Q) Hexane has molecular formula C6H14. Work out the empirical formuale of hexane
A) you need to divide both subtext numbers by the largest number that goes into both. if this number isnt obvious to you start with a number you know goes into both, e.g 2
using that here we would divide both 6 and 14 by 2 and get C3H7
as 3 and 7 dont have any more numbers that go into both (except 1) C3H7 is the empirical formula
