Determining an Empirical Formula

One way of determining the identity of an unknown in a lab is by analyzing its mass to determine its empirical formula (lowest whole number ratio of each element in a compound).  There are several types of problems, but all of them use the same concepts to start.

Example 1:  An unknown substance is composed of 24.7% potassium, 34.7% manganese and 40.5% oxygen.  Determine the empirical formula for this compound.

Problem!  You can't compare percentage by mass to determine the ratio of ATOMS!

1. The first step is to convert the percentages to MOLES using the MOLAR MASS for each element.
2. Once you have all the substances in moles, you can compare them to find the mole ratio.  There are several ways of doing this.  The easiest is to divide by the smallest value.  This usually works, but remember that an empirical formula is written in the LOWEST WHOLE NUMBER ratio, so if you a left with a fraction, you must multiply the entire ratio by a factor that will convert the fractions into WHOLE NUMBERS.
   
3. Therefore the ratio of K:Mn:O is 1:1:4, so the empirical formula is KMnO4.