The empirical formula is C₇H₆O₂.
Assume that you have 100 g of the compound.
Then you have 68.84 g C and 4.962 g H.
Mass of O = (100 – 68.84 – 4.962) g = 26.20 g O.
Now, we must convert these masses to moles and find their ratios.
From here on, I like to summarize the calculations in a table.
<u>Element</u>     <u>Mass/g</u>    <u>Moles</u>    <u>Ratio</u>    <u> ×2</u>   <u>Integers</u>  
      C           68.84      5.732    3.501  7.001       7
      H            4.962    4.923    3.006  6.012      6
      O          26.20      1.638     1          2             2
The empirical formula is C₇H₆O₂.
 
        
             
        
        
        
Electrons  cause it is the right answer
        
                    
             
        
        
        
The second answer is not a characteristic because compounds don’t vary from sample to sample. For example NaCl (table salt) is indistinguishable from sample to sample.