Answer:
C₂H₅O₂
Explanation:
The empirical formula, is the reduced formula of a compound, with the elements followed by its smallest possible number of moles.
First, let's calculated the number of moles of each element. The molar masses are:
C = 12 g/mol, H = 1 g/mol, O = 16 g/mol
The number of moles is the mass divided by molar mass, so :
nC = 330/12 = 27.5
nH = 69.5/1 = 69.5
nO = 440.4/16 = 27.5
To have the empirical formula, let's divide all the number of moles for the smallest: 27.5
nC = 27.5/27.5 = 1
nH = 69.5/27.5 = 2.5
nO = 27.5/27.5 = 1
The empirical formula can't have fractional numbers, so let's multiply all the numbers for 2
nC = 2
nH = 5
nO = 2
The empirical formula is
C₂H₅O₂
