The complete question is; Calculate the empirical formula for each of the following naturalflavors based on their elemental mass percent composition.
Q1) methyl butyrate (component of apple taste andsmell): C -58.80 % H- 9.87 % O -31.33.%Express your answer as a chemical formula.
Q2) vanillin (responsible for the taste and smellof vanilla): C - 63.15% H- 5.30 % O - 31.55%Express your answer as a chemical formula.
Q1) empirical formula is the simplest ratio of whole number of elements in the compound. as the percentages have been given, lets calculate for 100 g of compound C H O mass 58.80 g 9.87 g 31.33 molar mass 12 g/mol 1 g/mol 16 g/mol number of moles 58.80/12 9.87/1 31.33/16 = 4.9 =9.87 = 1.95 then divide number of moles by least number of moles - 1.95 in this case 4.9/1.95 = 2.51 9.87/1.95 = 5.06 1.95/1.95= 1 next multiply by 2 to get numbers that can be rounded off to whole numbers 2.51x2 = 5.02 5.06x2 = 10.12 1x2 = 2 when rounded off to the nearest whole number C - 5 H - 10 O - 2 therefore empirical formula is C₅H₁₀O₂
Q2) for this too since elemental composition has been given in percentages lets calculate for 100 g of compound C H O mass 63.15 g 5.30 g 31.55 g molar mass 12 g/mol 1 g/mol 16 g/mol number of moles 63.15/12 5.30/1 31.55/16 =5.26 =5.30 =1.97 divide the number of moles by the least number of moles - 1.97 5.26/1.97 5.30/1.97 1.97/1.97 =2.67 = 2.69 = 1 multiply each by 3 to get numbers that can be rounded off to whole numbers 2.67x3 = 8.01 2.69x3 = 8.07 1x3 = 3 rounded off to the nearest whole numbers C - 8 H - 8 O - 3 empirical formula = C₈H₈O₃
