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Question: Styrene has the empirical formula \( CH \) . It has a molar mass of \( 104{\text{ }}g \) . What is t...

Styrene has the empirical formula CHCH . It has a molar mass of 104 g104{\text{ }}g . What is the multiplier to get the molecular formula?

Explanation

Solution

Styrene is a derivative of benzene. It is a colorless oily liquid. The empirical formula and molar mass are provided. Find out the molecular formula by using the Molar mass of the empirical formula×n=molar mass of the compoundMolar{\text{ }}mass{\text{ }}of{\text{ }}the{\text{ }}empirical{\text{ }}formula \times n = molar{\text{ }}mass{\text{ }}of{\text{ }}the{\text{ }}compound , where n is any whole number.

Complete answer:
Styrene is a synthetic chemical compound. Another name is vinyl benzene and ethenylbenzene. It is a derivative of benzene. It is a colorless oily liquid that evaporates very easily. It has a sweet smell.
Styrene has several uses such as it is an important material for the production of polystyrene, its products are found in multiple essential products we use every day. The plastic made of styrene is a thermoplastic polymer which has high formability.
In the question we are given the empirical formula of styrene that is CHCH and its molar mass that is 104g104g , we need to calculate the molecular formula. We know that the molecular formula is always a whole number multiple of the empirical formula.
Thus empirical formula×n=molecular formulaempirical{\text{ }}formula \times n = molecular{\text{ }}formula
This can also be written as:
Molar mass of the empirical formula × n=\times {\text{ }}n = molar mass of the compound
CH×n=104g\Rightarrow CH \times n = 104g
(12+1)×n=104g\Rightarrow (12 + 1) \times n = 104g
13×n=104g\Rightarrow 13 \times n = 104g
n=104g13\Rightarrow n = \dfrac{{104g}}{{13}}
n=8\Rightarrow n = 8
Hence the multiplier to get the molecular formula is 88 .
Thus the molecular formula =(CH)8= {(CH)_8}
=C8H8= {C_8}{H_8}
Therefore the molecular formula of styrene is C8H8{C_8}{H_8} .

Note:
The empirical formula is the simplest whole-number combination in that compound and the molecular formula is the actual whole-number ratio between the elements in that compound. These two topics are an important part of the mole concept in chemistry.