Question: how to calculate empirical formula from elemental analysis?
Answer: To get to the lowest whole number ratio, we can multiply each of the numbers by 2 to get 3.00 : 6.00: 2.00. Multiplying by 2 converted 1.50 into the whole number 3.00. This now tells us the ratio between the atoms of each element in terms of the smallest whole number ratios, leading to the empirical formula C3H6O2.