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Chemistry is the branch of science which deals with the chemical properties of the substances and their composite use to form new substances. In the study of chemistry, every element’s existence in nature which is known to us till date has been assigned a specific name and symbol in order to get them handy for our own usage. Compounds are the combination of two or more elements in a specific ratio and proper proportions. The chemical formula is an expression that represents an element in that compound along with its proportion in the compound.
Also check: Chemical Equation for Calcium Hydroxide
Key Terms: Compounds, Elements, Molecular Formulae, Symbols, Cation, Anion, Chemical Combination
Writing a Chemical Formula
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To write the formula for an ionic compound, the charges over the anionic and the cationic parts are crossed over in subscript. Such as on combining, H+ and PO3-, the charges are crossed over to form H3PO4.

H3PO4
Example: In the formation of Lithium oxide, a Lithium ion with +1 charge is crossed over -2 charges on an oxygen atom to form Li2O.

Li2O
Example: Sodium is a metal and its symbol Na is derived from its Latin name Natrium. Hydrogen is an element which has an elemental symbol H which is derived from its English name itself.

H2O
Example: Chemical formula of water is H2O that implies that water is a compound which is formed by the combination of 2 elements of H and 1 element of O. Likewise, Sulphuric acid’s chemical formula is H2SO4 that implies that in this compound, the relative proportion of H, S and O are 2:1:4.

H2SO4
List of Chemical Formulae
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| S. No. | Compound name | Chemical Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hydrochloric acid | HCl |
| 2 | Acetic acid | CH3COOH |
| 3 | Sulfuric acid | H2SO4 |
| 4 | Ammonia | NH3 |
| 5 | Acetate | CH3COO– |
| 6 | Phosphoric acid | H3PO4 |
| 7 | Nitric acid | HNO3 |
| 8 | Sodium phosphate | Na3PO2 |
| 9 | Calcium carbonate | CaCO3 |
| 10 | Ammonium sulphate | (NH4)2SO4 |
| 11 | Carbonic acid | H2CO3 |
| 12 | Sodium bicarbonate | NaHCO3 |
| 13 | Sodium hydroxide | NaOH |
| 14 | Calcium hydroxide | Ca(OH)2 |
| 15 | Ethanol | C2H5OH |
| 16 | Hydrobromic acid | HBr |
| 17 | Nitrous acid | HNO2 |
| 18 | Potassium hydroxide | KOH |
| 19 | Silver nitrate | AgNO3 |
| 20 | Sodium carbonate | Na2CO3 |
| 21 | Sodium chloride | NaCl |
| 22 | Cellulose | (C6H10O5)n |
| 23 | Magnesium hydroxide | Mg(OH)2 |
| 24 | Methane | CH4 |
| 25 | Nitrogen dioxide | NO2 |
| 26 | Sodium nitrate | NaNO3 |
| 27 | Sulphurous acid | H2SO3 |
| 28 | Aluminium sulphate | Al2(SO4)3 |
| 29 | Aluminium oxide | Al2O3 |
| 30 | Ammonium nitrate | NH4NO3 |
| 31 | Ammonium phosphate | (NH4)3PO4 |
| 32 | Barium hydroxide | Ba(OH)2 |
| 33 | Carbon tetrachloride | CCl4 |
| 34 | Citric acid | C6H8O7 |
| 35 | Hydrocyanic acid | HCN |
| 36 | Salicylic Acid | C7H6O3 |
| 37 | Hydroiodic acid | HI |
| 38 | Hypochlorous acid | HClO |
| 39 | Iron iii oxide | Fe2O3 |
| 40 | Magnesium phosphate | Mg3(PO4)2 |
| 41 | Sodium acetate | C2H3NaO2 |
| 42 | Sodium sulphate | Na2SO4 |
| 43 | Sucrose | C12H22O11 |
| 44 | Potassium nitrate | KNO3 |
| 45 | Ammonium bicarbonate | NH4HCO3 |
| 46 | Ammonium chloride | NH4Cl |
| 47 | Ammonium hydroxide | NH4OH |
| 48 | Calcium nitrate | Ca(NO3)2 |
| 49 | Calcium oxide | CaO |
| 50 | Carbon monoxide | CO |
| 51 | Chlorine gas | Cl2 |
| 53 | Phenol | C6H6O |
| 54 | Hydrogen peroxide | H2O2 |
| 55 | Hydroxide | OH– |
| 56 | Magnesium chloride | MgCl2 |
| 57 | Potassium chloride | KCl |
| 58 | Potassium iodide | KI |
| 59 | Sulphur dioxide | SO2 |
| 60 | Glycerin | C3H8O3 |
| 61 | Barium nitrate | Ba(NO3)2 |
| 62 | Calcium acetate | C4H6O4Ca |
| 63 | Iron oxide | Fe2O3 |
| 64 | Potassium carbonate | K2CO3 |
| 65 | Silver chloride | AgCl |
| 66 | Sodium iodide | NaI |
| 67 | Sodium oxide | Na2O |
| 68 | Sodium sulphide | Na2S |
| 69 | Zinc nitrate | Zn(NO3)2 |
| 70 | Phenolphthalein | C20H14O4 |
| 71 | Magnesium nitrate | Mg(NO3)2 |
| 72 | Silicon dioxide | SiO2 |
| 73 | Acetone | C3H6O |
| 74 | Hydroquinone | C6H6O2 |
| 75 | Pyridine | C5H5N |
| 76 | Ammonium acetate | C2H3O2NH4 |
| 77 | Xylene | C8H10 |
| 78 | Barium sulphate | BaSO4 |
| 79 | Benzene | C6H6 |
| 80 | Bicarbonate | CHO3– |
| 81 | Chromate | CrO42- |
| 82 | Methyl Ethyl Ketone | C4H8O |
| 83 | Cyanide | CN− |
| 84 | Trichloroacetic acid | C2HCl3O2 |
| 85 | Magnesium sulphate | MgSO4 |
| 86 | Methanol | CH3OH |
| 87 | Oxygen | O |
| 88 | Methylene blue | C16H18ClN3S |
| 89 | Sodium sulfite | Na2SO3 |
| 90 | Sulphur trioxide | SO3 |
| 91 | Aluminium phosphate | AlPO4 |
| 92 | Stearic acid | C18H36O2 |
| 93 | Dinitrogen monoxide | N2O |
| 94 | Titanium dioxide | TiO2 |
| 95 | Acetonitrile | C2H3N |
| 96 | Oxalic acid | H2C2O4 |
| 97 | Potassium dichromate | K2Cr2O7 |
| 98 | Sodium bromide | NaBr |
| 99 | Sodium hypochlorite | NaClO |
| 100 | Zinc acetate | Zn(CH3COO)2(H2O)2 |
Things to Remember
- Compounds are the chemical combination of two or more elements.
- A chemical formula is an expression which represents the element along with its relative proportion in the compound.
- To write the chemical formula for an ionic compound, the charges over the anion and the cation parts are crossed over.
- Mostly, the names of the elements are derived from English whereas their symbols are derived either from their English names or Latin names used for the elements.
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Sample Questions:
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Sodium bromide? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 1 element of Sodium and 1 element of Bromine. Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, only one of each of both is required, so its Chemical formula is NaBr.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Calcium phosphide? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 3 elements of Calcium and 2 elements of Phosphorus. Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, 3 elements of Ca and 2 elements of P are required, so its chemical is Ca3P2.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Titanium tetrachloride? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 1 element of Titanium and 4 elements of Chlorine. Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, 1 element of Ti and 4 elements of Cl are required, so its chemical formula is TiCl4.
Ques. A is an Element from the 8th Group of the periodic table which shows Variable Valency. Name the Substance A and write its Formula when it Forms a Reddish-Brown Oxide. (3 Marks)
Ans. ‘A’ shows variable valency and forms a reddish-brown oxide; it has to be Fe (Iron) which is a metal of the 8th Group of the periodic table. Thus ‘A’ is Iron.
Now, the oxide which is reddish-brown in colour is ferric oxide.
Valencies of elements and radicals: Fe = 3, O = -2
Hence, the formula of ferric oxide is Fe2O3
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Dinitrogen trioxide? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 2 elements of Nitrogen and 3 elements of Oxygen. Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, 2 elements of N and 3 elements are required, so its chemical formula is N2O3.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Ammonium sulphate? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 2 elements of Ammonia, 1 element of Sulphate (1 element of Sulphur and 4 elements of Oxygen). Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, only one of each of both is required; its chemical formula is (NH4)2SO4.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of Iron (II) chloride? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 1 element of Iron and 2 elements of Chlorine. Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, 1 element of Fe and 2 elements of Cl are required, so its chemical formula is FeCl2.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of copper(II) hydroxide? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 1 element of Copper and 2 elements of Hydroxide (1 element each of Oxygen and Hydrogen). Hence, on the chemical combination of both these elements, 1 element of Cu and 2 elements of (OH) are required, so its chemical formula is Cu(OH)2.
Ques. What is the chemical composition of calcium hydroxide? (2 Marks)
Ans. It has 1 element of Calcium and 2 elements of Hydroxide (1 element each of Oxygen and Hydrogen). Hence, on chemical combination of both these elements, 1 element of Ca and 2 elements of (OH) are required, so its chemical formula is Ca(OH)2.
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