Types of Chemical Formulae

There are different types of chemical formulae based on the composition of chemical compounds:

• Molecular Formula
• Empirical formula
• Structural formula

Molecular Formula

Amount of elements in a substance can be determined from its molecular formula. The periodic table’s symbols are used to represent the elements in molecular formulae, and a subscript is used to indicate how many atoms of each element are present in the molecule.

Example:

• Molecular formula of Urea is CH₄N₂O which gives exact number of constituent atoms (i.e Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen in one Urea molecule
• Molecular formula of Acetic Acid is CH₃COOH
• Molecular formula of Glucose is C₆H₁₂O₆

Empirical Formula

Ratio of the elements present in a chemical compound is represented by its empirical formula. Usually, empirical formulas are developed by the evaluation of experimental data.

Example:

• Empirical formula of Urea is CH₄N₂O
• Empirical formula of Acetic Acid is CH₂O
• Empirical formula of Glucose is CH₂O

Structural Formula

Structural formula of a chemical compound gives understanding of the arrangement of the atoms in the molecule.

Example:

Structural formula of Urea is shown below,

Structural formula of Acetic Acid is shown below,

Chemical formula is a way to describe chemical ratios of atoms that make up a specific chemical compound or molecule in chemistry. Chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes other symbols, such as parentheses, dashes, brackets, commas, plus (+), and minus (-) signs, are used to represent the chemical elements, atoms, or ions. A chemical substance that contains atoms from at least two different elements is referred to be a chemical compound. Chemical compounds and molecules both contain many atoms, but unlike chemical compounds, a molecule can just be made up of atoms from the same element.

In this article, we have covered, Definition of Chemical Formula, Importance of Chemical Formula, Types of Chemical Formulae, and others in detail.