How can empirical and molecular formulas be the same?

1 Answer
anor277
May 2, 2016

The molecular formula is always a multiple of the empirical formula.

Explanation:

From the above, "Molecular formula"=("Empirical formula")xxn.

Of course, the multiple, n, may be ONE. Non-molecular compounds, typically ionic compounds, have common empirical and molecular formulae (of course ionic species are non-molecular).

There are even some molecular species whose empirical formulae would be the same as the molecular formulae. The ones I can think off hand are CH_4, NO, NO_2, N_2O, N_2O_5, CO_2, CO, and H_2O. There are possibly lots of other examples.

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