This is confusing

Question

Use the following data to determine the empirical formula of the compound formed by elements X, Y, and Z.

Element	Percent by Mass	Atomic Mass
X	38.76%	20.04 g/mol
Y	19.97%	15.49 g/mol
Z	41.26%	8.00 g/mol

Empirical Formula of the Compound is ?X?  Y?  Z  

Answer 1

Consider a 100 g sample of the compound

element mass_in_sample Moles_in_sample ( get by dividing mass by atomic mass)

X 38.76 g 1.934

Y 19.97 g 1.289

Z 41.26 g 5.158

The smallest moles_in_sample is that for Y. So divide each Moles_in_sample by 1.289

This results in X: 1.5 , Y : 1 Z : 4

So the first version of the empirical formula is X_1.5Y₁Z₄

Since the subscripts should be integers, multiply through by 2 to get

X₃Y₂Z₈