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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Chemical formula?

Also known as: subscript

Definition 11.9 School Chemistry — Grades 1 to 12 · Chapter 11 — Atoms and Molecules

The chemical formula of a molecule lists the symbols of its atoms, each followed by a small number written below the line — the subscript — giving how many atoms of that kind the molecule contains. A subscript 1 is not written.

Examples

Example 11.10 (The seven formulas)

The molecules of Example 11.7 have these formulas:

moleculeformulaatoms
hydrogenHX2\ce{H2}2 hydrogen
oxygenOX2\ce{O2}2 oxygen
nitrogenNX2\ce{N2}2 nitrogen
waterHX2O\ce{H2O}2 hydrogen, 1 oxygen
carbon dioxideCOX2\ce{CO2}1 carbon, 2 oxygen
methaneCHX4\ce{CH4}1 carbon, 4 hydrogen
nitrous oxideNX2O\ce{N2O}2 nitrogen, 1 oxygen
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