Formula
From Eterna Wiki
A formula is a written representation of which and how many atoms of various chemical elements are present in a single molecule or chemical subunit of a substance.
Examples
- O2 is the formula for the oxygen gas that we breathe.
- H2O is the formula for water.
- Ne is the formula for neon gas. Note that this formula consists of only one atom.
- C12H22O11 is the formula for sucrose (table sugar).
Caveats
It is worth noting that for lots of organic compounds such as sucrose, a chemical formula does not fully specify the identity of a substance. For example, there exist isomers with the same formula but different chemical structures. As another example, RNA and DNA have a certain chirality or "handedness" to them.
