Chemical Compound Formulas: Common Compounds, Formula Chart

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Jasmine Grover

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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

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

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

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

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.

NaBr
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.

Ca3P2
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.

TiCl4
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

Fe2O3
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.

N2O3
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.

(NH4)2SO4
(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.

FeCl2
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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CBSE X Related Questions

  • 1.
    Assertion (A): Reflex actions do not involve thinking.
    Reason (R): Most reflex actions are controlled by the spinal cord.

      • Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of the Assertion (A).
      • Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of the Assertion (A).
      • Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
      • Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.

    • 2.

      The reasons for excessive generation of wastes are:
       (i) Use and throw policy. 
      (ii) Increased availability of packaged food. 
      (iii) Increased construction wastes. 
      (iv) Non-sorting of dry and wet wastes

        • (i), (iii) and (iv)
        • (i), (ii) and (iii)
        • (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
        • (ii), (iii) and (iv)

      • 3.
        Which structure in a leaf is mainly responsible for gaseous exchange?

          • Xylem
          • Stomata
          • Phloem
          • Cuticle

        • 4.
          Rays from the sun converge at a point 25 cm behind a convex lens. The distance at which an object be placed in front of the lens to get a virtual image, is:

            • 20 cm
            • 40 cm
            • 50 cm
            • More than 50 cm

          • 5.
            Draw a neat diagram to show germination of pollen on the female reproductive part of the flower. Name and label only the following parts:
            (a) The part that receives the pollen grain.
            (b) The structure that carries the male germ cell to reach the female germ cell.


              • 6.
                State two differences between the act of chewing food and salivation on sight of food.

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