Solution:
Step 1: Assume that the mass of a compound is 100 g.
[tex]\text{mass H = 3.74 g}[/tex]
[tex]\text{mass C = 44.43 g}[/tex]
[tex]\text{mass N = 51.83 g}[/tex]
Step 2: Calculate the number of moles of each element.
[tex]n \: \text{H = 3.74 g} × \frac{\text{1 mol}}{\text{1.008 g}} = \text{3.7103 mol}[/tex]
[tex]n \: \text{C = 44.43 g} × \frac{\text{1 mol}}{\text{12.01 g}} = \text{3.6994 mol}[/tex]
[tex]n \: \text{N = 51.83 g} × \frac{\text{1 mol}}{\text{14.01 g}} = \text{3.6995 mol}[/tex]
Step 3: Represent an empirical formula.
[tex]\text{empirical formula} = \text{H}_{x}\text{C}_{y}\text{N}_{z}[/tex]
Step 4: Divide the number of moles of each element by the least number of moles.
[tex]x = \frac{\text{3.7103 mol}}{\text{3.6994 mol}} = 1[/tex]
[tex]y = \frac{\text{3.6994 mol}}{\text{3.6994 mol}} = 1[/tex]
[tex]z = \frac{\text{3.6995 mol}}{\text{3.6994 mol}} = 1[/tex]
Step 5: Write the empirical formula.
[tex]\boxed{\text{empirical formula} = \text{HCN}}[/tex]
[tex]\\[/tex]
#CarryOnLearning
