A sample of an unknown compound contains 0.21 mol of zinc, 0.14 mol of phosphorus, and 0.56 mol of oxygen. what is the empirical formula? enter in the order given,

e. g. zn1p1o1 for znpo

Zn3P2O8

We have the ratio 0.21 : 0.14 : 0.56 and we want to come up with a ratio of simple integers, so first divide all the numbers by the smallest which is 0.14, getting 1.5 : 1 : 4, The 1 and 4 look OK, but obviously the 1.5 isn't anywhere close to an integer. But that can be corrected easily by multiplying all the numbers again by 2, giving 3 : 2 : 8. So the empirical formula is Zn3P2O8.