Chemical Formulae
A Chemical formula is a representation of a chemical substance using letters for atoms and subscript number to show the number of each type of atoms in the substance.
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) standardized the usage of
name, symbol, chemical formulae and mass of atom or molecule for chemical substances at international level.
Chemical Formula of an Element
The chemical formula of an element represents its atoms. For some elements which naturally exist as molecules, the
chemical formulae represent their molecules
Symbol of nitrogen atom
N2
Shows that there are 2 atom of nitrogen in a molecule of nitrogen gas, N2
Chemical Formulae of A Compound
symbol of carbon and oxygen atoms
CO2
No number means there is only 1 carbon atom in a molecule of carbon dioxide
Shows number of oxygen atoms
Chemical Formulae of A Compound
symbol of calcium, nitrogen and oxygen atoms
Ca(NO3)2
The brackets show that there are 2 group of nitrate ions
Empirical Formula
Empirical Formula of a compound is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element in the compound.
Example : chemical formula of glucose molecule is C6H12O6 Ratio of Element Ratio of atoms Simplest ratio of atoms Empirical Formula of Glucose C : H : O 6 : 12 : 6 1 : 2 : 1 CH2O
Empirical Formula
Compound water methane Benzene Hydrogen peroxide Molecular Fomula H2O CH4 C6H6 H2O2 Empirical Formula H2O CH4 CH HO
Calculation Problem of EF
Example 1:
In an experiment, hydrogen gas react with 4.53g of hot metal X oxide. At the end of experiment, 3.57g of metal X is obtained. What is the empirical formula for the metal X oxide? [ Relative atomic mass : O, 16 ; X,119 ]
Solution of Example 1
Element Mass of element /g Number of Moles Simplest ratio of moles Empirical Formula X
3.57
3.57 0.03 119
O
4.53-3.57=0.96
0.96 0.06 16
0.03 1 0.03
0.06 2 0.03
XO2
Calculation Problem of EF
Example 2:
A compound consist 41.05% of potassium, K; 33.69% of sulphur, S and 25.26% of oxygen, O. Find the empirical formula for this compound. [ Relative atomic mass : K, 39 ; S, 32 ; O, 16 ]
Solution of Example 2
Element Mass of element in 100g/g Number of moles Simplest ratio of moles Ratio of moles in integer Empirical Formula
K
41.05
41.05 1.05 39
1.05 1 1.05
S
33.69
33.69 1.05 32
1.05 1 1.05
O
25.26
25.26 1.58 16
1.58 1.5 1.05
K2S2O3
Molecular Formula
Molecular Formula of a compound is the actual number of atoms of each element that are present in a molecule of the compound.
In a Molecular Formula, the subscript number are simple multiple of those in the empirical formula.
Molecular Formula = ( Empirical Formula )n
Comparison of EF and MF
Compound
Water methane Empirical Formula H2O CH4 Molecular Fomula (H2O)1= H2O (CH4)1=CH4
n
1 1
Benzene Hydrogen peroxide
CH HO
(CH)6= C6H6 (HO)2=H2O2
6 2
Calculation Problem of MF
Example 1: The empirical formula of a compound is C2H4O. It has a relative molecular mass of 88. What is the molecular formula for this compound?
[ Relative atomic mass: C,12 ; H, 1; O,16 ]
Solution
Assume that the molecular formula is (C2H4O)n
Relative molecular mass of compound=88 88= [2(12) +4(1) +16 ]n 88=44n n=2
Thus, Molecular Formula = ( C2H4O)2
= C4H8O2
Percentage composition by mass of an element in a compound
% composition by mass of an element in a compound =
mass of element in compound 100% mass of 1 mol compound
Problem of Percentage composition by mass of an element in a compound
Find the percentage composition by mass of nitrogen in urea, CO(NH2)2. [AR: C,12 ; O, 16; H, 1 ; N,14 ]
% composition by mass of Nitrogen in urea
Massof nitrogen atoms in 1 mol of urea 100% Massof 1 mol of urea 2(14) 100% 12 16 2[14 2(1)] 46.67%
Chemical Formulae of Ionic Compound
CaCO3
Symbol of calcium, Ca; carbon, C and oxygen, O atoms Number 3 shows the quantity of oxygen in the compound
Chemical Formulae for Ionic Compounds
Ionic compounds are made up of
positively- charged ions (cations) and negatively-charged ions (anions)
Ionic compounds are electrically neutral
even though they contain charged particles. This is because the total of positive charges are equal to the total of negative charges
List of some common cations
Formula of cation Name of cation Hydrogen Ion Lithium ion Formula of cation Name of cation Calcium ion magnesium ion
H+ Li+
Ca2+ Mg2+
Na+
K+
Sodium ion
Potassium ion
Ba2+
Zn2+
Barium ion
Zinc ion
Ag+
NH4+
Silver ion
Ammonium ion Cobalt (II) ion
Ni2+
Al3+
nickel(II) ion
Aluminium on Cromium(III) Ion
Co2+
Cr3+
List of some common cations
Formula of cation Name of cation Copper (I) ion Copper (II) ion Iron (II) ion Iron (III) ion Tin (II) ion Tin (IV) ion Lead (II) ion Formula of cation Name of cation Lead (IV) ion Mercury (I) ion Mercury (II) ion Manganese (II) ion
Cu+ Cu2+ Fe2+ Fe3+ Sn2+ Sn4+ Pb2+
Pb4+ Hg+ Hg2+ Mn2+
List of some common anions
Formula of anion F Cl Br I NO3 NO2
Name of anion Fluoride ion Chloride ion Bromide ion Iodide ion Nitrate ion Nitrite ion
Formula of anion OH ClO ClO3 HCOO CH3COO MnO4
Name of anion
Hydroxide ion Chlorate (I) ion Chlorate (V) ion Methanoate ion Ethanoate ion
Manganate(VII) ion
Hydride ion
List of some common anions
Formula of anion Name of anion Formula of anion Name of anion
BrO
BrO3 IO IO3 O2 S2
Bromate (I) ion
Bromate (V) ion Iodate (I) ion iodate(V) ion Oxide ion sulphide ion
SO4 2
S2O3 2 CO3 2 CrO4 2
Sulphate ion
Thiosulphate ion Carbonate ion Chromate (VI) ion
Cr2O7 2 Dichromate (VI) ion PO4 3 Phosphate ion
SO3 2
Sulphite ion
CF of simple Ionic Compound
Example 1:
What is the chemical formula of Silver iodide?
Ions
Charge of ion
Ag+
+1
I
1
Number of ions
Chemical Formula of Silver iodide = AgI
CF of simple Ionic Compound
Example 2:
What is the chemical formula of zinc oxide?
Ion Charge of ion Number of ion Simplest ratio of ions Zn2+ +2 2 1 O2 2 2 1
Chemical formula of zinc oxide = ZnO
CF of simple Ionic Compound
Example 3:
What is the chemical formula of Iron (III) chloride?
Ion
Charge of ion
Fe3+
+3
Cl
1
Number of ion
Chemical formula of Iron (III) chloride = FeCl3
Practice 1: Construct Chemical Formulae
Construct the chemical formula for these compounds: 1. Potassium chloride 2. Sodium bromide 3. Lithium iodide 4. Aluminium oxide 5. Copper (II) chloride 6. Calcium fluoride 7. Lead (II) bromide 8. Iron (II) sulphide 9. Barium chloride 10. Chromium (III) oxide
CF of complicated Ionic Compound
Complicated ions are ions that made up of
two or more elements such as NO3, CO32, SO4 2, OH etc.
Brackets are used to show the number of
these ions involved in formulae
If there is only 1 ion involved, brackets is
not necessary. Example CuCO3
CF of complicated Ionic Compound
Example 1:
What is the chemical formula of ammonium sulphate ?
Ion
Charge of ion
NH4+
+1
SO42
2
Number of ions
Chemical Formula of ammonium sulphate =(NH4)2SO4
CF of complicated Ionic Compound
Example 2:
What is the chemical formula of calcium carbonate? Ion Charge of ion Number of ions Simplest ratio of ions Ca2+ +2 2 1 CO32 2 2 1
Chemical formula of calcium carbonate =CaCO3
CF of complicated Ionic Compound
Example 3:
What is the chemical formula of iron (III) nitrate?
ion
Charge of ion
Fe3+
+3
NO3
1
Number of ions
Chemical formula of iron (III) nitrate =Fe(NO3)3
CF of complicated Ionic Compound
Example 4:
What is the chemical formula of zinc hydroxide?
Ion
Charge of ion
Zn2+
+2
OH
1
Number of ions
Chemical formula of zinc hydroxide = Zn(OH)2
Practice 2: Construct chemical formula of complicated ions
Construct chemical formula for these chemical compound:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ammonium nitrate Copper (II) nitrate Calcium hydroxide Sodium thiosulphate Barium sulphate Magnesium carbonate Aluminium nitrate Potassium ethanoate Zinc sulphate Iron (II) sulphite
11. Iron (II) sulphate 12. Tin (II) nitrate 13. Lead (II) 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Chromate (VI) Barium dichromate (VI) Ammonium phosphate Chromium (III) hydroxide Nickel(II) carbonate Potassium chlorate(V) Sulphuric acid Nitric acid
Naming of Chemical Compounds
Chemical compound are named systematically according to the
guidelines given by IUPAC ( International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)
Guideline to name a Chemical Compound
For ionic compound
name of cation comes first, followed by the name of anion
Cation Sodium ion Zinc ion Calcium ion Anion Chloride ion Oxide ion Carbonate ion
Name of ionic compound Sodium chloride
Zinc oxide Calcium carbonate
Guideline to name a Chemical Compound
For simple molecular compounds:
The name of first element is maintain but the name of second element is added with an -ide
Examples: HCl KBr NaO hydrogen chloride potassium bromide sodium oxide
Guideline to name a Chemical Compound
Greek prefixes are used to show the number of atoms of each element in a compound.
Example:
CO carbon monoxide CO2 carbon dioxide SO3 sulphur trioxide CCl4 - carbon tetrachloride PCl5 phosphorus pentachloride N2O4 Dinitrogen tetroxide Cl2O7 - dichlorine heptoxide
Meaning of Greek Prefixes
Prefix Mono DiTirTetraPentaMeaning 1 2 3 4 5 Prefix HexaHeptaOctaNonaDecaMeaning 6 7 8 9 10
Solution of Practice 1
1. KCl 2. NaBr
3. LiI
4. Al2O3 5. CuCl2
6. CaF2 7. PbBr2 8. FeS 9. BaCl2 10. Cr2O3
Solution of Practise 2:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
NH4NO3 Cu(NO3) 2 Ca(OH)2 Na2S2O3 BaSO4 MgCO3 Al(NO3)3 CH3COOK ZnSO4 FeSO3
11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
FeSO4 Sn(NO3)2 PbCrO4 BaCr2O7 (NH4)3PO4 Cr(OH)3 NiCO3 KClO3 H2SO4 HNO3
