Determine the empirical formula of silicon oxide, if 5.36 g of a silicon oxide sample contains 2.50 g of silicon.

Step 1: Determine the moles of each element

First, we need to find out how many moles of each element are present in the sample. We do this by dividing the mass of each element by its atomic mass.

The atomic mass of silicon (Si) is approximately 28.09 g/mol and the atomic mass of oxygen (O) is approximately 16.00 g/mol.

So, the number of moles of silicon (Si) in the sample is 2.50 g ÷ 28.09 g/mol = 0.089 mol.

The mass of oxygen in the sample is the total mass of the sample minus the mass of the silicon, which is 5.36 g - 2.50 g = 2.86 g.

So, the number of moles of oxygen (O) in the sample is 2.86 g ÷ 16.00 g/mol = 0.179 mol.

Step 2: Determine the ratio of moles

Next, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio of the moles of each element. We do this by dividing the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles calculated in step 1.

So, the ratio of silicon to oxygen is 0.089 mol ÷ 0.089 mol : 0.179 mol ÷ 0.089 mol = 1 : 2.

Step 3: Write the empirical formula

The empirical formula is written by placing the ratio numbers as subscripts after each element symbol.

So, the empirical formula of the silicon oxide is SiO2.