Is it possible for the Empirical and Molecular formula to be the same? [ENDORSED]

[Brianna Brockman 1F]

So I came across a problem recently that no matter how hard I tried, I kept getting the same answer for both the Empirical and Molecular formula. Ive never seen that before so... is that possible?

[Selina Bellin 2B]

yes! completely possible :)

[Grace Kim 1J]

Yes, it is definitely possible! If the molecular formula cannot be simplified any further, then the empirical formula would be the same as the molecular formula. The empirical formula is the simplest ratio of atoms in a molecule, and sometimes the molecular formula cannot be simplified, explaining the reason why the formulas were the same in your problem!

[Irene Zhou 1E]

The empirical formula and the molecular formula can be the same! It just means that the molecular formula is already in the simplest form. This can be verified if the mass of the empirical formula is the same as the molar mass of the compound.

[Angela Grant 1D]

It is possible! Take H2O for example. The formula can't get any simpler, so it is both the molecular and empirical formula of water.

[Vicky Lu 1L]

Empirical and molecular formula can be the exact same as each other. The empirical formula is the simplest ratio of elements in that molecule, however, the molecular formula is merely the exact/actual ratio of elements. It could be that a molecule is in both its empirical and molecular formula already. H2O and CO2 are both examples of being in empirical formula as well as molecular formula.

[Dominique S 4E]

Yes it's possible!

[yuetao4k]

It is completely possible! If the given molecular weight is calculated to be the same as the empirical formula's molecular weight, then it is the same!

[Jasmine Chow 1F]

yes! if the molecular formula can not be simplified it is the same as the molecular formula.