RULES

FOR WRITING
CHEMICAL FORMULAE

Chemical Compounds
Chemical
compounds
are
substances that are composed of
two or more atoms that are
chemically
combined
with
a
chemical bond, whether it is ionic
or covalent.

Molecules are uncharged particles

of elements or compounds, which
are generally bonded by a covalent
bond. They may be a single atom, a
group of two or more atoms of the
same element, or a group of atoms
of different elements that have
combined to form a compound.

Monoatomic molecules are oneatom molecules. He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe,
and Rn are monoatomic molecules.
Diatomic molecules are twoatom molecules. H, O, N, Cl and F
are atoms that can form diatomic
molecules.

TYPES OF CHEMICAL FORMULA

A chemical formula is a type of
notation made with numbers and
chemical symbols. It has two
purposes:
1. to indicate the composition of the
compound;
2. to indicate the number of atoms in
one molecule of an element.

The formula tells two things:

1. the elements making up the
compound;
2. the relative number of atoms of
each element in the compound

RULES FOR WRITING FORMULAE

CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS
1. Write the symbols of the elements
and
their
oxidation
numbers
disregarding the charge.
a. In binary ionic compounds,
write the cation first before the
anion.
Ex. aluminum oxide

Al
Al2O3

b.
In
combinations
involving
nonmetals, where the one with lower
electronegativity attains a positive
oxidation number over the other, the
one with positive oxidation number
must beEx.
written
first.dioxide
Carbon

CO2

2. If the oxidation numbers of the

ions
or
polyatomic
ions
are
numerically equal regardless of the
charge, simply remove them and
write the symbols.
Ex: aluminum phosphate

Al

+3

PO

-3
4

AlPO 4

3. If the oxidation numbers are not

numerically equal as long as they
are not divisible to a certain
number, simply interchange them to
get the subscripts. If the subscript of
the polyatomic ion is greater than
one, enclose it in the parenthesis.
For more complex compounds like
that of ferro- and ferricyanides,
enclose the polyatomic ion in a
bracket.

Ex.: zinc

Zn

+2

OH

hydroxide
-1

ammonium

NH

1
4

SiO3

= Zn OH 2
silicate
-2

NH 4 2 SiO3

4. If the oxidation numbers are

divisible by a certain number,
simplify their subscripts and rewrite
the formula.
Ex.: lead (IV) sulfide

Pb

+4 +

-2

Pb 2S4

Rewrite to PbS2
because the
subscripts are
divisible by 2

lead

Pb

+4

SO

(IV)
-2
4

sulfate

Pb 2 SO 4 4

Rewrite to Pb(SO4)2

If the compound is named with

Greek prefixes, mono 1, di 2, tri
3, tetra 4, etc. just indicate the
subscript based on the given prefix.
Ex.: dinitrogen pentoxide =N2O5
manganese dioxide =

MnO2

Exercises:
Write the chemical formulae of the
following compounds:
a. Sodium hydoxide
b. Potassium permanganate
c. Aluminum sulfite
d. Manganese (IV) hydroxide
e. Iron (II) oxide
f. Hydrogen sulfide
g. Dinitrogen hexacloride