Question

What are the empirical and molecular formulas for nitrogen oxide?

Answer 1

Hint: To solve this question we first need to know what is nitrogen oxide. A binary compound that contains nitrogen and oxygen or a mixture of such compounds is referred to as nitrogen oxide.

Complete answer:
Now, let us first understand the empirical formula. The formula of the chemical compound that depicts the simplest positive integer ratio of the atoms present is known as the empirical formula.
In the empirical formula, the number of atoms or the arrangement of the atoms is not depicted.
On the other hand, the molecular formula of the compound shows the exact number of each atom present in the molecule.
The elemental analysis of a compound can be used to determine the percentage composition of atoms in a molecule which further can be used to determine the molecular formula of the compound.
So, the empirical formula of nitrogen oxide will simply be NO.
Since there are various types of nitrogen oxides, the molecular formula of some of the charge-neutral oxides is as follows.
- Nitric Oxide: NO, also known as nitrogen monoxide.
- Nitrogen dioxide: $N{O}_2$, also known as nitrogen(IV) oxide.
- Nitrogen trioxide ($N{O}_3$), also known as nitrate radical.
- Nitrous oxide ($N_{2}O$), also known as nitrogen(0,II) oxide.
- Dinitrogen dioxide ($N_2{O}_2$), also known as nitrogen(II) oxide dimer.
- Dinitrogen trioxide ($N_2{O}_3$), also known as nitrogen(II,IV) oxide.
- Dinitrogen tetroxide ($N_2{O}_4$), also known as nitrogen(IV) oxide dimer.
- Dinitrogen pentoxide ($N_2{O}_5$), also known as nitrogen(V) oxide.
- Nitrosylazide ($N_{4}O$), also known as nitrogen(−I,0,I,II) oxide.
- Oxatetrazole ($N_{4}O$)
- Trinitramide ($N{(N{O}_2)}_3$ or $N_4{O}_6$), also known as nitrogen(0,IV) oxide.

Note:
It should be noted that to determine the molecular formula of a compound from its empirical formula and percentage compositions, the following steps should be followed.
- Convert percentage expression to the mass of each element.
- Convert the mass of each element to the amount in moles.
- Divide the resulting values with the smallest among these values.
- Multiply integers, if any, to obtain whole numbers.