An empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
An empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound. Starting from the moles of each element (found from a mass analysis), this calculator simplifies them down to the smallest whole-number ratio.
A compound has 0.25 mol of element A and 0.75 mol of element B. Dividing both by 0.25 gives a ratio of 1 : 3 — so the empirical formula is AB₃.
It's the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element in a compound, as opposed to the molecular formula which shows the actual number of atoms.
Convert each element's mass (or mass percentage) to moles, then divide each by the smallest mole value to find the simplest whole-number ratio.
The molecular formula is a whole-number multiple of the empirical formula — for example, glucose's molecular formula (C6H12O6) is 6 times its empirical formula (CH2O).