A compound consists of three elements: Carbon ( C ), Hydrogen ( H ), and Nitrogen ( N ). The ratio of their masses in the compound is given as 9 : 1 : 3.5 . The empirical formula of the compound is : (Given atomic masses: C =12 u , H =1 u , N =14 u )

Step-by-step solution

To find the empirical formula, we first determine the relative number of moles for each element by dividing the given mass ratio by their respective atomic masses. Relative moles of C = 9 12 = 0.75 Relative moles of H = 1 1 = 1 Relative moles of N = 3.5 14 = 0.25 Next, we divide each value by the smallest relative number of moles ( 0.25 ) to obtain the simplest whole-number ratio: For C : 0.75 0.25 = 3 For H : 1 0.25 = 4 For N : 0.25 0.25 = 1 The simplest whole-number ratio of C : H : N is 3 : 4 : 1 . Therefore, th