How do you determine the order of an empirical formula after you have stated the empirical ratio?

Question

Hypothetically speaking, lets say there was 3 elements A B and C. We figured out that the ratio is 1:2:3.
How do we know how to write the formula?
AB2C3, B2C3A, C3B2A all fit the ratio, so how do we determine the order? Does it have to do with the mass number?

Answer 1

All the possibilities contain the same information. So it is just a matter of convention.

The usual convention is C first if present, followed by H, followed by the other elements in alphabetical order of symbol. another way of doing things is to group atoms together if you think that they are connected to each other. So sodium nitrate, strictly according to the convention, would be written N Na O3, but it is always written as NaNO3.

Answer 2

If there is a metal in the bunch, list it first since the cation of an ionic formula gets top billing. Then decide if any of the non-metals are part of a polyatomic ion. If so, group them together. Examples would be sulfate, nitrate, chlorate, etc.
For covalent compounds, list carbon first. Usually hydrogen comes next, then the third (such as oxygen).

Answer 3

purely take those decimals you get in those variety of issues and different them via 2, 3, 4, 5 etc., until you get an answer this is somewhat on the fringe of an entire extensive variety. Then multiply the numbers of each and every atom via this extensive variety. notice: they sometimes do no longer flow plenty previous 5 for those form of questions, so it is not that plenty artwork to determine this out.

Answer 4

the nonmetals(?) have a special order you set them in, and that order is: B, C, P, N, H, S, I, Br, Cl, O, F. else than that is metals before nonmetals, group 1 before group 2, period 1 before period 2.

there you have it, so you have to use the periodic table when writing a formula...