Question

Symbolic representation of an actual number of atoms present in a molecule is called:

• A. empirical formula
• B. molecular formula
• C. structural formula
• D. none of these

Answer 1

The correct option is B molecular formula

The number of atoms of each element in a compound is given by the molecular formula. For example:

Compound	Chemical Formula
Water	$H_{2}O$
Carbon dioxide	$C{O}_2$
Ethyl alcohol	$C_2{H}_{5}OH$

By looking at the molecular formula of water, one can understand it has $2$ atoms of hydrogen and $1$ atom of oxygen. Similarly, other compounds also have a fixed number of atoms which is understood by the molecular formula.