Question

Write the chemical formula of the following compound:

Potassium oxalate

Answer 1

Chemical formula:

• The symbolic representation of a molecule of a compound is called its chemical formula.
• To write the formula of a chemical substance, the valency and the symbol of the various atoms or radicals present in it must be known.

For example, the chemical formula of sulphuric acid is ${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$.

• The chemical formula of Potassium oxalate is ${\mathrm{K}}_2{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_4.{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$
• By applying the criss cross method:

$$\begin{gathered} \mathrm{Symbol}\mathrm{K}{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_4 \\ \mathrm{Valency}1\nearrow \nwarrow 2 \end{gathered}$$

Therefore, the chemical formula for Potassium oxalate is ${\mathrm{K}}_2{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_4.{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$