Determine the simplest formula?

Question

determine the simplest formula for MSG,

it has the composition 35.51% C, 4.77%H, 37.85% O, 8.29% N, and 13.6% Na.

Any help would be so great!!!

Answer 1

by taking 100grams of MSG u get 35.51g of C, 4.77 of H, 37.85 of O, 8.29g of N and 13.6g of Na.

35.51/12 = 2.96mole of C, 4.77/1 = 4.77mole of H, 37.85/16 = 2.37mole of O, 8.29/14=0.59mole of N and 13.6/23 = 0.59mole of Na

So divide the mole of each element with the smallest mole value(0.59)  to get the ratio. So u get C = 5, H = 8, O=4, N=1, Na=1

So rearranging it u get C5H8NNaO4

there u go, have a nice day

Answer 2

Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate and MSG, is a sodium salt of the non-essential amino acid glutamic acid. It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavour enhancer. It has the HS code 29224220 and the E number E621. Trade names of monosodium glutamate include Ajinomoto, Vetsin, and Accent.

Although traditional Asian cuisine uses flavour-enhancing ingredients which contain high concentrations of MSG, it was not isolated until 1907. MSG was subsequently patented by the Japanese Ajinomoto Corporation in 1909. In its pure form, it appears as a white crystalline powder; when dissolved in water (or saliva) it rapidly dissociates into sodium cations and glutamate anions (glutamate is the anionic form of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring amino acid).

Its molecular formula is C5H8NNaO4