The empirical formula is K₂CO₃.
The empirical formula is the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
The ratio of atoms is the same as the ratio of moles, so our job is to calculate the molar ratio of K:C:O.
I like to summarize the calculations in a table.
Element Moles Ratio¹ Integers²
K 0.104 2.00 2
C 0.052 1.00 1
O 0.156 3.00 3
¹ To get the molar ratio, you divide each number of moles by the smallest number.
² Round off the number in the ratio to integers to integers (2, 1, and 3).
The empirical formula is K₂CO₃.
