chemical formula

chemical formula, any of several kinds of expressions of the composition or structure of chemical compounds. The forms commonly encountered are empirical, molecular, structural, and projection formulas.

An empirical formula consists of symbols representing elements in a compound, such as Na for sodium and Cl for chlorine, and subscripts indicating the relative number of atoms of each constituent element. (A subscript is not used, however, unless the number is more than one.) Thus, benzene is represented by the empirical formula CH, which indicates that a typical sample of the compound contains one atom of carbon (C) to one atom of hydrogen (H). Water is represented by the empirical formula H₂O, denoting that the substance contains two atoms of hydrogen (H₂) for every atom of oxygen (O).

A general formula is a type of empirical formula that represents the composition of any member of an entire class of compounds. Every member of the class of paraffin hydrocarbons is, for example, composed of hydrogen and carbon, the number of hydrogen atoms always being two or more than twice the number of carbon atoms. Given that n stands for “any number,” the general formula of this class is therefore C_nH_{2n + 2}.

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Empirical formulas are normally used to represent substances with undetermined molecular structures or substances not made up of normal molecular entities—e.g., sodium chloride (table salt), which is composed of ions. To express the chemical composition of the individual molecules of a substance—the molecule being the smallest particle in which the substance retains its chemical properties—a molecular formula is employed. For example, the molecular formulas C₂H₄ and C₃H₆ for ethylene and propylene, respectively, state the number and kind of every atom present in a molecule of each substance. In contrast, both ethylene and propylene have the same empirical formula, CH₂, because they are both composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms in a ratio of 1 to 2. In some cases, such as water, the empirical and molecular formulas of a substance may be identical.

Structural formulas identify the location of chemical bonds between the atoms of a molecule. A structural formula consists of symbols for the atoms connected by short lines that represent chemical bonds—one, two, or three lines standing for single, double, or triple bonds, respectively. For example, the structural formula of ethane is

signifying that the compound consists of two carbon atoms each linked to the other and to three hydrogen atoms by single bonds. Structural formulas are particularly useful for showing how compounds with the identical kind and number of atoms differ.

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A projection formula is a two-dimensional representation of what is actually a three-dimensional molecule. Such a formula resembles the structural type in that it consists of symbols representing atoms of the constituent elements connected to each other by dashes or curves that stand for chemical bonds. Thus, the methane molecule, characterized by a tetrahedral disposition of four chemical bonds around a carbon atom, is conveniently represented by the projection formula

Projection formulas are widely used in the study of stereoisomers—compounds that have the same composition but that differ in the spatial arrangement of the atoms comprising their molecules. Certain conventions for drawing projection formulas have been adopted so that stereoisomers can be distinguished from one another by means of appropriate differences in their formulas.