Which of the following is NOT an empirical formula?
a) C2N2H8
b)C3H8O
c)BeCr2O7
D)Sb2S3

Question

anonymous · Answer

a)

anonymous · Answer

Was the answer I was leaning toward.  May I ask, is it because it can be reduced?

anonymous · Answer

yes. emp. formula its the simplest formula, so see which of the formulas can be divided by the same number (in this case by half) C2N2H8 can be reduced to CNH4. these would be the emp. formula

abb0t · Answer

Great explanation, @levinelevine !!
However, I think it's best if you guide them in the right direction, often by providing definitions, theorems, or formulas for Questions. That way they can engage in the problem themselves and learn :)

anonymous · Answer

trying to teach that way is a bad idea... his teacher already tried that and it obviously didnt work, so its better to explain complicated stuff as simple it can get. Or maybe thats just me... @abb0t