Differentiate between empirical formula and a molecular formula?
Difficulty: Easy
| Empirical Formula | Molecular Formula |
| 1. Empirical formula of a compound is the chemical formula that gives the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element. | 1. A molecular formula gives the actual whole number ratio of atom of each element present in a compound. |
| 2. A formula that represents the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of elements in a compound. | 2. A formula which represents actual number of atoms of elements in a compound. |
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3. It is obtained from elemental analysis $ = \frac{\text{Molecular formula}}{\text{n}}$ |
3. It is obtained by multiplying “n” with empirical formula where: $ = \frac{\text{Molecular mass}}{\text{Empirical formula mass}}$ |
| 4. It is used for both molecular and ionic compound. | 4. It is used for molecular compounds. |
| 5. Examples: $\text{C}\text{H}_{2}\text{O}$ and $\text{CH}$ are empirical formulae of glucose and benzene respectively. | 5. Examples: $\text{C}_{6}\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_{6}$ and $\text{C}_{6}\text{O}_{6}$ are molecular formulae of glucose and benzene respectively. |