Question

The molecular formula of ethane is two times its empirical formula.
A.True
B.False

Answer 1

Empirical formula tells us about the smaller whole number ratio on which elements are present. Write the molecular formula of ethane and break it into the smallest ratio possible and check whether the molecular formula comes out double or not.

Complete step by step answer:
Empirical formula does not tell the arrangement of atoms or even the total number of atoms present. It just gives us information about how many elements are present in a given compound and the ratio of each element with one another.
On the other hand molecular formula or chemical formula depicts the total number of atoms that are present in any compound along with the fixed, constant proportion of atoms constituting the formula. Molecular formulas are unique, each compound has a particular molecular formula, whereas one empirical formula represents two different compounds.
The molecular formula of ethane is ${{\text{C}}_2}{{\text{H}}_6}$. We can divide the number of atoms by 2 and we will get the simplest ratio as ${\text{C}}{{\text{H}}_3}$. We can clearly see that the molecular formula of ethane is double than the empirical formula.

Hence, the given statement is true.

Note:
Ethane is a saturated organic compound that contains 2 carbon atoms and 6 hydrogen atoms. It exists in gaseous form at room temperature and is colourless and odorless. It is mainly used for production of ethane by steam cracking. As most of the other hydrocarbons ethane is very flammable. Similarly we can look at some other examples of molecular formula and empirical formula. The empirical formula of ${{\text{H}}_2}{{\text{O}}_2}$ is ${\text{HO}}$ and the empirical formula for glucose that is ${{\text{C}}_6}{{\text{H}}_{12}}{{\text{O}}_6}$ is ${\text{C}}{{\text{H}}_2}{\text{O}}$.