What is the molecular formula for benzene and the simplest formula of a hydrate containing 56.14% ZnSO4 and 43.86% H2O?

The molecular formula for benzene is C₆H₆. While its empirical formula is CH, which indicates the simplest ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms, the molecular formula shows that benzene actually contains six carbon atoms and six hydrogen atoms. This corresponds to the molar mass of benzene, which is approximately 78.1 g/mol. Each empirical unit (CH) has a mass of about 13 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon and 1 g/mol for hydrogen), and multiplying that by 6 gives us the total molar mass of 78.1 g/mol.

For the hydrate, we start with the percentages of ZnSO₄ and H₂O. Given that there are 56.14% ZnSO₄ and 43.86% H₂O, we can assume a 100 g sample for simplicity, which means we have 56.14 g of ZnSO₄ and 43.86 g of H₂O. Next, we calculate the number of moles of each component:

ZnSO₄:
Molar mass = 65.38 (Zn) + 32.07 (S) + 4 × 16.00 (O) = 161.45 g/mol.
Moles of ZnSO₄ = 56.14 g / 161.45 g/mol ≈ 0.348 moles.

H₂O:
Molar mass = 2 × 1.01 (H) + 16.00 (O) = 18.02 g/mol.
Moles of H₂O = 43.86 g / 18.02 g/mol ≈ 2.43 moles.

Now, we find the simplest whole number ratio of ZnSO₄ to H₂O by dividing both by the smallest number of moles:

ZnSO₄: 0.348 ÷ 0.348 = 1
H₂O: 2.43 ÷ 0.348 ≈ 7

Thus, the simplest formula of the hydrate can be represented as ZnSO₄·7H₂O.