Tartaric acid has an empirical formula of C2H3O3. If 1 mole of tartaric acid contains 3.61x10(24) oxygen atoms, what is the molecular formula of tartaric acid?
I know I have to start by finding the molar mass, but how can I do that by knowing just the oxygen atoms?
The answer is C4H6O6, PLEASE tell me how to get there?
2006-10-18 08:33:04 · 4 answers · asked by sleepyface 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
take that big number and divide it by avogadros number to get 6 oxygens per tartaric acid molecule. thats because 6.02x10(23) tartaric acids have 36.1x10(23) oxygens. take 36.1/6.02 voila, the ratio is 6 times.
therfore the molecular formula of tartaric acid must contain 6 Os.
2006-10-18 08:37:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
3.61 x 10^24/ 6.023 x 10^23 = 6 moles of oxygen atoms. To get 6 moles of oxygen atoms you need 2 x C2H3O3. Therefore the molecular formula of tartaric acid is C4H6O6.
2006-10-18 08:37:50 · answer #2 · answered by Jabberwock 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
start from here:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Molecular_formula&redirect=no
2006-10-18 08:35:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://people.uis.edu/gtram1/organic/stereochemistry/tartaricAcid.htm
Try this site, it has several configurations.
2006-10-18 08:35:44 · answer #4 · answered by finaldx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋