How many sulfur atoms are present in the empirical formula for sodium sulfate?

• A. 3
• B. 2
• C. 4
• D. 1

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the chemical formula of sodium sulfate. Sodium sulfate is composed of sodium (Na), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O). Its chemical formula is \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\).
2. Understand what the empirical formula represents. The empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
3. Analyze the subscripts in the formula \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\). Here, sodium has a subscript of 2, sulfur has no subscript explicitly written (which means 1), and oxygen has a subscript of 4.
4. Since the empirical formula is the simplest ratio, and the formula \(\mathrm{Na_2SO_4}\) is already in the simplest whole-number ratio, the empirical formula is the same as the molecular formula.
5. Therefore, the number of sulfur atoms in the empirical formula of sodium sulfate is 1.