Question

The empirical formula of the anticancer drug altretamine is C3H6N2. A chemist experimentally determines its

Answer 1

Answer: The molecular formula will be $C_9H_{18}N_6$

Explanation:

Molecular formula is the chemical formula which depicts the actual number of atoms of each element present in the compound.

Empirical formula is the simplest chemical formula which depicts the whole number of atoms of each element present in the compound.

To calculate the molecular formula, we need to find the valency which is multiplied by each element to get the molecular formula.

The equation used to calculate the valency is:

$n=\frac{\text{molecular mass}}{\text{empirical mass}}$

empirical mass of $C_3H_6N_2=3\times 12+6\times 1+2\times 14=70g$

Molecular mass= 214 g/mol

$n=\frac{214}{70}=3$

Thus molecular formula will be $3\times C_3H_6N_2=C_9H_{18}N_6$