CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

Does the empirical formula represent the relative number of atoms of a compound or the relative mass ratio of the atoms in a compound?

The empirical formula represents the relative number of atoms.

So for glucose, the empirical formula would be CH2O, with a 1:2:1 ratio of C:H:O atoms.

The empirical formula represents the most basic ratio of atoms in the formula.

Theoretically, doesn’t it also refer to mass percent composition of the molecule?

I believe empirical formula does not directly refer to the mass percent composition of a molecule because mass percent composition is based on the mass of each type of atom over the total mass(and different atoms have different masses) while the empirical formula is more about the relative ratio of each atom presented.

The empirical formula represents the ratios of the atoms in their simplest form

The empirical formula shows the relative number of atoms that a molecule has whereas the molecular formula shows the actual number of atoms.

the empirical formula simplifies the ratio of the atoms in a formula, the molecular formula shows the actual number. as a result, the empirical formula of multiple molecules could be the same while the molecular formulas cannot