Solution:
Step 1: Represent a molecular formula.
[tex]\text{molecular formula} = (\text{C}_{3}\text{H}_{4}\text{O}_{3})_{n}[/tex]
Step 2: Calculate the empirical mass.
empirical mass = (12 g/mol × 3) + (1 g/mol × 4) + (16 g/mol × 3)
empirical mass = 88 g/mol
Step 3: Divide the molecular mass by the empirical mass.
[tex]n = \frac{\text{molecular mass}}{\text{empirical mass}}[/tex]
[tex]n = \frac{\text{180 g/mol}}{\text{88 g/mol}}[/tex]
[tex]n = 2[/tex]
Step 4: Multiply the subscripts by the value of n to obtain the molecular formula.
[tex]\text{molecular formula} = (\text{C}_{3}\text{H}_{4}\text{O}_{3})_{2}[/tex]
[tex]\boxed{\text{molecular formula} = \text{C}_{6}\text{H}_{8}\text{O}_{6}}[/tex]
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