Multiple Choice
Which pair of compounds has the same empirical formula?
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3. Chemical Reactions
Empirical Formula
Multiple Choice
How many sulfur atoms are present in the empirical formula for sodium sulfate?
A
3
B
2
C
4
D
1
Verified step by step guidance1
Identify the chemical formula of sodium sulfate. Sodium sulfate is composed of sodium (Na), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O). Its chemical formula is \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\).
Understand what the empirical formula represents. The empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
Analyze the subscripts in the formula \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\). Here, sodium has a subscript of 2, sulfur has no subscript explicitly written (which means 1), and oxygen has a subscript of 4.
Since the empirical formula is the simplest ratio, and the formula \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\) is already in the simplest whole-number ratio, the empirical formula is the same as the molecular formula.
Therefore, the number of sulfur atoms in the empirical formula of sodium sulfate is 1.
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