Let's assume we have 100 g of the compound. This means that there are 40.13 g of vanadium and 59.87 g of fluorine.
To convert the masses to moles, we need to divide by the respective molar masses:
Moles of vanadium = 40.13 g / 50.94 g/mol = 0.787 mol
Moles of fluorine = 59.87 g / 18.99 g/mol = 3.15 mol
To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio between the moles of vanadium and fluorine. We can divide both moles by the smallest number of moles to achieve this:
Moles of vanadium (simplified) = 0.787 mol / 0.787 mol = 1
Moles of fluorine (simplified) = 3.15 mol / 0.787 mol = 4
Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is VF4.
