2 | Formulas Of Common Chemical Substances

General Chemistry 1 Q1 Lesson 2

Chemical formula

• a symbolic expression of a compound or substance.

Chemical formula

• a formula that tells how many atoms of a particular element, or multiple elements, are found within a certain chemical compound.

Chemical formula

• The numbers that appear as subscripts on certain symbols within the formula are used to represent how many of each particular atom are found within the chemical substance.

Subscript

• a small number written at the lower right corner of a chemical symbol

Chemical symbol

• an abbreviation that represents the name of an element

table salt

NaCl

methane

CH₄

glucose

C₆H₁₂O₆

propane

C₃H₈

octane

C₈H₁₈

acetic acid or vinegar

C₂H₄O₂

ammonia

NH₃

ascorbic acid or vitamin C

C₆H₈O₆

silver chloride

AgCl

phosphoric acid

H₃PO₄

sulfuric acid

H₂SO₄

Chemical formula

• tells you how many atoms of each element is in a molecule.

2 atoms of hydrogen

1 atom of oxygen

• Identify how many atoms of each element:
  H₂O

1 atom of carbon
2 atoms of oxygen

• Identify how many atoms of each element:
  CO₂

6 atoms of carbon
12 atoms of hydrogen
6 atoms of oxygen

• Identify how many atoms of each element:
  C₆H₁₂O₆