Chemical Formula of Common Compounds (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

Chemical Formulas of compounds are symbolic representations of their chemical composition. They tell us about which elements the chemical compound is made of and in what ratio.

In this article, we will learn about the chemical formulae of some common compounds in detail.

Table of Content

Chemical Compound Formula

Chemical formula is a representation of a substance's molecular composition in terms of the symbols representing the components that make up the molecule. Molecular formula is another name for a chemical formula.

An element's or a compound's chemical formula can be used. A chemical formula is a technique of presenting information on the chemical proportions of atoms that make up a chemical compound or molecule using chemical element symbols, numbers, and other symbols like parentheses, dashes, brackets, and commas.

Symbols of Elements

Chemical formula of an element is a description of the molecule's composition, with the symbol indicating the element and the subscript indicating the number of atoms in one molecule.

Since one molecule of hydrogen contains two hydrogen atoms, the formula for hydrogen is H2. One molecule of hydrogen element includes two hydrogen atoms, according to the formula H2. Also, 2H denotes two separate hydrogen atoms, H2 denotes one hydrogen molecule, and 2H2 denotes two hydrogen molecules.

The following table lists the molecular formulas for some of the most common elements:

**Elements and their Symbols
**Elements **Formula
**Hydrogen H2
**Chlorine Cl2
**Oxygen O2
**Bromine Br2
**Nitrogen N2
**Iodine I2
**Phosphorous P4

Formula of Chemical Compounds

Chemical formula of a compound represents the elements present in the substance's molecule in terms of their symbols. It is a description of its composition in which the chemical symbols indicate which elements are present and the subscripts indicate how many atoms of each element are present in one molecule.

Chemical formulas and elements found in several common molecular compounds are listed below.

**Chemical Compounds and their Formulae
**Compound **Formula **Elements present
**Carbon dioxide CO2 C and O
**Water H2O H and O
**Sulphur dioxide SO2 S and O
**Ammonia NH3 N and H
**Hydrogen chloride HCl H and Cl
**Methane CH4 C and H
**Ethanol C2H5OH C, H, and O
**Hydrogen sulphide H2S H and S

Types of Chemical Formula

There are various types of chemical formulae and all the chemical formulae represent different attribute of the chemical compound. In general the chemical formula represent the molecular formula of the compound that is the representation of the molecule of the compound.

There are three general types of chemical formulae that are,

Now let's learn about them in detail.

Molecular Formula

The molecular formula of any compound represent the molecule of the compound and it tells us that how many atoms and in which ratio they are combined to form that compound.

The molecular formula of Glucose is C6H12O6 it tells us that in forming a glucose molecule we require 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms and 6 oxygen atoms.

Emperical Formula

The empirical formula of any compound tells us that how many atoms are required to a compound. It also tells us the ratio in which the atoms combine to form the compounds. For example the empirical formula for glucose is CH2O this tells us that in forming glucose we need carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atom in 1:2:1 ratio.

Structural Formula

The structural formula of any compound tells us the exact structure of the compound its tell us which atom forms bond with which atom in forming the compound.

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List of Common Chemical Compounds

The list of some common chemical compound of chemistry are tabulated below with their properties and general uses.

Common Name Chemical Formula Chemical Name General Uses
Baking Soda NaHCO3 Sodium Bicarbonate It is used for baking purposes.
Bleaching Powder CaOCl2 Calcium Oxychloride It is used as a disinfectant and as a bleaching agent.
Blue Vitriol CuSO4.xH2O Copper Sulphate It is used for fungus control.
Borax Na2[B4O5(OH)4].8H2O Sodium Borate It is used for manufacturing detergent.
Carbolic Acid C6H5OH Phenol It is used as a home cleaner and disinfectant.
Caustic Potash KOH Potassium Hydroxide It is used in the manufacturing of fertilizers and soaps
Chloroform CHCl3 Trichloro methane It is used as a solvent and is used in manufacturing floor polish.
Common Salt NaCl Sodium Chloride It is used for flavouring and preserving food.
Dry Ice CO2 Solid Carbon Dioxide It is used as a food preservative.
Galena PbS Lead(II) Sulphide It is used in pottery.
Green Vitriol FeSO4.7H2O Ferrous Sulphate Heptahydrate It is used in the treatment of sewage water
Gypsum CuSO4.2H2O Calcium Sulphate dihydrate It is used in home manufacturing.
Heavy Water D2O Deuterium Oxide It is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
Laughing Gas N2O Nitrous Oxide It is used by dentists.
Quick lime CaO Calcium Oxide It is used in iron and steel manufacturing.
Slacked lime Ca(OH)2 Calcium Hydroxide It is used in plaster and mortar
Lime Stone CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate It is used as marble
Caustic Soda NaOH Sodium Hydroxide It is used in the manufacturing of paper, aluminium and other.
Marsh Gas CH4 Methane It is a poisonous gas which is mainly found in mines.
Milk of Magnesia Mg(OH)2 Magnesium Hydroxide It is used as an antacid.
Spirit of Niter HNO3 Nitric Acid It is used in the production of fertilizers and explosives.
Muriatic Acid HCl Hydrochloric Acid It is used in food and leather processing.
Oil of Vitriol H2SO4 Sulphuric Acid It is used in the manufacturing of fertilizers.
Plaster of Paris CaSO4.1/2H2O Calcium Sulphate Hemihydrate It is used as a protective coating for walls.
Quick Silver Hg Mercury It is used in barometers and clinical thermometers.

Importance of Chemical Formulae

The importance of Chemical Formulae of Compounds is mentioned below:

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