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The requirements for an empirical formula are that it give the correct ratios between all pairs of atoms in the actual molecule and have subscripts (including the value 1 implied by lack of an explicit subscript) with the lowest possible values to achieve all the correct ratios. To meet the latter condition, either one subscript must be one or the two smallest subscripts must be distinct Prime number. The formula of the compound given has only one prime number subscript, 5. If all subscripts in the molecular formula are divided by the same number to yield an integral quotient, the resulting formula will still be empirically correct. In the given molecular formula, all the subscripts are integrally divisible by 5. Therefore, the empirical formula is CH3O2.

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12y ago

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