Question
QQ What is an empirical formula? A. The emporsal formula indicates the number of atoms of each element in a compound. B. The enporkal formula indicates es the arrangement of atoms of each element in a compound. C. The empirical formula indicates the simplest ratio of atoms of each elem D. The empirical formula indicates the number and arrangement of atoms c
Answer
4.3
(275 Votes)
Harvey
Professional · Tutor for 6 years
Answer
C. The empirical formula indicates the simplest ratio of atoms of each element.
Explanation
The empirical formula of a compound represents the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element present in the compound. It does not provide information about the actual number of atoms or the arrangement of atoms (which is given by the molecular formula and the structural formula, respectively). Therefore, the empirical formula is concerned solely with the ratio of atoms, not their specific number or arrangement.