Question

When 2.5000 g of an oxide of mercury, (hg soy) is decomposed into the elements by heating, 2.405 g of mercury are produced. calculate the empirical formula?

Answer 1

For Hg :
2405 g mol / 200.59 g = 0.0012 mol
For O:
( 2.5000 - 2.405 ) g mol / 15.999 g = 0.006 mol
0.012 : 0.006 = 2 Hg
0.006 : 0.006 = 1 O
Answer:
The empirical formula is Hg 2 O.