Mass, if you know what element you are working with.
Answer:
The rule is especially applicable to carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and the halogens, but also to metals such as sodium or magnesium. ... All four of these electrons are counted in both the carbon octet and the oxygen octet, so that both atoms are considered to obey the octet rule.
Answer: The empirical formula is
.
Explanation:
Mass of C = 1.71 g
Mass of H = 0.287 g
Step 1 : convert given masses into moles.
Moles of C = 
Moles of H = 
Step 2 : For the mole ratio, divide each value of moles by the smallest number of moles calculated.
For C =
For H =
The ratio of C: H = 1: 2
Hence the empirical formula is
.
The answer would be 0.55 moles! good luck!