Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
CHEMISTRY
C
R
HEMICAL
EPRESENTATION
Chemical symbol
A way of expressing an
in written form. It
represents one atom and often is the first one or two
letters of the name of the element.
element
Molecular formula
A combination of symbols representing one
molecule
of an element or compound. It shows which
elements are in the molecule and the number of
atoms of each element.
Reaction equation
A written expression of a chemical reaction where the
reacting chemicals are shown to the left of an arrow
pointing to the products of the reaction on the right.
Either words or formulae can be used.
Balanced equation
An equation using formulae where the number of atoms
of each element involved in the reaction is the same
on each side of the arrow.
The language of chemistry is understood better when the symbols of the
more common elements are known, such as those shown on the following
page. Use of these symbols provides a convenient shorthand method for
chemists to represent molecular formulae. In these formulae, the subscript
number following the atomic symbol denotes how many atoms of that ele-
ment are in the molecule, for example, the formula for water is H
O, which
means each molecule of water contains two atoms of hydrogen (symbol H)
and one atom of oxygen (symbol O).
The process (chemical reaction) by which a chemical product is made,
as depicted by an equation, is called
2
. Working in laboratories,
chemists devise new ways to synthesize known chemicals or new chemicals
never made before and not found in nature. Synthesis chemists working in
industrial laboratories also must find or develop uses for the new chemicals
that they synthesize while considering the costs of eventual manufacture.
synthesis
