Question

What do you understand by chemical formula?

Answer 1

Chemical formula: A compound's chemical formula is a symbolic representation of the compound's composition. Chemical equations reveal the elements that make up a compound's molecules, as well as the proportions in which these elements' atoms mix to produce those molecules.

About chemical formula:

• Chemical formulae provide insight into the chemical composition of a substance.
• They also represent the ratios in which the constituent elements combine to form the compound.
• The chemical formula of a compound is crucial while representing it in a chemical equation.
• Chemical formulae can also be employed to represent ions, free radicals and other chemical species.

Example:

• The chemical formula of carbon dioxide is ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$, we come to know that one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms are chemically bonded together to form one molecule of the compound, carbon dioxide.