An analysis of a compound showed it contained 87.4% nitrogen and 12.6% hydrogen. the molecular weight was determined to be 32.05 g/mol. what is the molecular formula for this compound?

The molecular formula for the given compound is

Explanation:

We are given:

Percentage of H = 12.6 %

Percentage of N = 87.4 %

Let the mass of compound be 100 g. So, percentages given are taken as mass.

Mass of H = 12.6 g

Mass of N = 87.4 g

To formulate the empirical formula, we need to follow some steps:

Moles of Nitrogen =

Moles of Hydrogen =

For the mole ratio, we divide each value of the moles by the smallest number of moles calculated which is 6.24 moles.

For Nitrogen =

For Hydrogen =

The ratio of N : H = 1 : 2

The empirical formula for the given compound is

For determining the molecular formula, we need to determine the valency which is multiplied by each element to get the molecular formula.

The equation used to calculate the valency is :

We are given:

Mass of molecular formula = 32.05 g/mol

Mass of empirical formula = 16 g/mol

Putting values in above equation, we get:

Multiplying this valency by the subscript of every element of empirical formula, we get:

Hence, the molecular formula for the given compound is