Acompound is used as a food additive.The compound has a molar mass of 176.124grams/mole A692.6-gram sample undergoes decomposition, producing 283.4 grams of carbon, 31.7 grams of hydrogen, and 3774 grams of oxygen What is the molecular formula of the compound? A. C_(3)H_(4)O_(3) B. C_(4)H_(8)O_(4) C. C_(6)H_(6)O_(6) D. C_(6)H_(8)O_(6)

## Step 1: First, we determine the number of moles of each element in the sample:- Carbon: - Hydrogen: - Oxygen: ## Step 2: To find the empirical formula, we divide each mole value by the smallest mole value (23.6 moles) to get the simplest whole number ratio:- Carbon: - Hydrogen: (rounded to 1)- Oxygen: ## Step 3: The empirical formula is thus CHO.## Step 4: The molar mass of the empirical formula is .## Step 5: To find the molecular formula, we divide the given molar mass (176.124 grams/mole) by the molar mass of the empirical formula (29.018 grams/mole) to get a factor of approximately 6.## Step 6: Multiplying each subscript in the empirical formula by this factor, we get the molecular formula .