An important amino acid has the percentage composition C 32.00%,H 6.71%, and N 17.66%.Calculate the emperical?

Answer 1

This question was made harder by the typo for N% (it should be 18.66%)

Just divide each % weight by atomic weight to get relative number of atoms:

32/12.01 = 2.66
6.71/1.008 = 6.66
18.66/14.007 = 1.333
42.63/16 = 2.66 (oxygen % found by difference)

Now, get into smallest whole numbers (since they are all greater than one; try dividing by the smallest number; its a good first attempt)

2.66/1.333 = 2
6.66/1.333 = 5
1.333/1.333 =1
2.66/1.333 = 2 (worked on first try; does not always happen)

Emperical formula is: C2H5NO2 (which just happens to be the formula for glycine)