Question

can you convert these mole values into a whole - number mole ratio?
based on what you now know, there is 2.63 moles of nitrogen and 3.95 moles of oxygen. $n_{2.63}o_{3.95}$ would be the empirical formula, but you know that is not right.
there cannot be 2.63 atoms of nitrogen and 3.95 atoms of oxygen. these are not whole numbers. previously, we saw that by dividing all these mole values by the smallest value or 2.63 should give us whole numbers.
divide both of the mole values by 2.63 and record the subscripts for this empirical formula below. don’t worry if your answers are not whole numbers just yet. we’ll discuss that next.

Explanation:

Step1: Divide moles of nitrogen by 2.63

$\frac{2.63}{2.63}=1$

Step2: Divide moles of oxygen by 2.63

$\frac{3.95}{2.63}\approx1.5$

Answer:

The subscripts for the empirical formula are approximately $N_1O_{1.5}$.