Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes

Chemistry
3.1 Formulae
Contents
Formulae
Empirical Formulae & Formulae of Ionic Compounds
Writing Equations

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 Formulae
Your notes
Molecular Formulae
Element symbols
Each element is represented by its own unique symbol as seen on the Periodic Table
E.g. H is hydrogen
Where a symbol contains two letters, the first one is always in capital letters and the
other is small
E.g. sodium is Na, not NA
Atoms combine together in fixed ratios that will give them full outer shells of electrons
The chemical formula tells you the ratio of atoms
E.g. H2O is a compound containing 2 hydrogen atoms which combine with 1 oxygen
atom
The chemical formula can be deduced from the relative number of atoms present
E.g. If a molecule contains 3 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of nitrogen then the
formula would be NH3
Diagrams or models can also be used to represent the chemical formula

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 The ammonia molecule consists of a central nitrogen atom bonded to three hydrogen
atoms
Your notes
Chemical formulae
The structural formula tells you the way in which the atoms in a particular molecule are
bonded
This can be done by either a diagram (displayed formula) or written (simplified
structural formula)
The molecular formula tells you the actual number of atoms of each element in one
molecule of the compound or element
E.g. H2 has 2 hydrogen atoms, HCl has 1 hydrogen atom and 1 chlorine atom

Example: Butane
Structural formula (displayed)

Structural formula (simplified)

CH3CH2CH2CH3
Molecular formula
C4H10
Empirical formula
C2 H 5

Deducing formulae by Combining power(valency)

The concept of valency is used to deduce the formulae of compounds (either molecular
compounds or ionic compounds)
Valency or combining power tells you how many bonds an atom can make with another
atom or how many electrons its atoms lose, gain or share, to form a compound

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 E.g. carbon is in Group IV so a single carbon atom can make 4 single bonds or 2
double bonds
The following valencies apply to elements in each group: Your notes

Worked Example
What is the formula of aluminium sulfide?
Answer:
We can use the combining power (valency) of each atom to work out a formula

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 Your notes

The formula for aluminium sulfide is Al2S3

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 Empirical Formulae & Formulae of Ionic Compounds
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Empirical Formulae
The molecular formula is the formula that shows the number and type of each atom in a
molecule
E.g. the molecular formula of ethanoic acid is C2H4O2
The empirical formula is the simplest whole number ratio of the atoms of each element
present in one molecule or formula unit of the compound
E.g. the empirical formula of ethanoic acid is CH2O
Organic molecules, such as ethanoic acid, often have different empirical and molecular
formulae
The formula of an ionic compound is always an empirical formula

Deducing Formulae of Ionic Compounds

The formulae of these compounds can be calculated if you know the charge on the ions
The Periodic Table can help work out the charge on many elements:
Group I elements form ions with a 1+ charge
Group II elements form ions with a 2+ charge
Group III elements form ions with a 3+ charge
Group V elements form ions with a 3- charge
Group VI elements form ions with a 2- charge
Group VII elements form ions with a 1- charge
Below are some other common ions and their charges
Note that a Roman numeral next to the element tells you the charge on the ion, e.g.
copper(II) ions have a charge 2+
There are several common compound ions included in the table
Some chemists call these polyatomic ions

Common Ions & Their Charges Table

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 Your notes

The overall sum of the charges of an ionic compound should be 0

You therefore need to work out the ratio of the ions to ensure this is the case
When you write the formula of a compound ion it is necessary to use brackets around the
compound ion where more than one of that ion is needed in the formula
For example copper(II) hydroxide is Cu(OH)2

Worked Example
What is the formula of?
1. sodium bromide
2. aluminium fluoride
3. aluminium oxide
4. magnesium nitrate
5. ammonium sulfate
Answer 1

Symbol Na Br

Ion charge 1+ 1-

Balance the number of ions 1 sodium ion is needed for each bromide ion

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 Ratio of ions 1:1

Formula NaBr Your notes

Answer 2

Symbol Al F

Ion charge 3+ 1-

Balance the number of ions 3 fluoride ions are needed for each aluminium ion

Ratio of ions 1:3

Formula AlF3

Answer 3

Symbol Al O

Ion charge 3+ 2-

Balance the number of ions 2 aluminium ions are needed for 3 oxide ions

Ratio of ions 2:3

Formula Al2O3

Answer 4

Symbol Mg2+ NO3-

Ion charge 2+ 1-

Balance the number of ions 2 nitrate ions are needed for each magnesium ion

Ratio of ions 1:2

Formula Mg(NO3)2

Answer 5

Symbol NH4+ SO42-

Ion charge 1+ 2-

Balance the number of ions 2 ammonium ions are needed for each sulfate ion

Ratio of ions 2:1

Formula (NH4)2SO4

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 Writing Equations
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Writing Word Equations, Symbol Equations &
Ionic Equations
Word equations
These show the reactants and products of a chemical reaction using their full chemical
names
The arrow (which is spoken as “goes to” or “produces”) implies the conversion of
reactants into products
Reaction conditions or the name of a catalyst can be written above the arrow
An example of a word equation for neutralisation is:
sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + water
The reactants are sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid
The products are sodium chloride and water

Names of compounds
For compounds consisting of 2 atoms:
If one is a metal and the other a non-metal, then the name of the metal atom comes
first and the ending of the second atom is replaced by adding -ide
E.g. NaCl which contains sodium and chlorine thus becomes sodium chloride
If both atoms are non-metals and one of those is hydrogen, then hydrogen comes
first
E.g. Hydrogen and chlorine combined is called hydrogen chloride
For other combinations of non-metals as a general rule, the element that has a lower
group number comes first in the name
E.g. carbon and oxygen combine to form CO2 which is carbon dioxide since carbon
is in Group 4 and oxygen in Group 6
For compounds that contain certain groups of atoms:
There are common groups of atoms which occur regularly in chemistry
Examples include the carbonate ion (CO32-), sulfate ion (SO42-), hydroxide ion
(OH-) and the nitrate ion (NO3-)
When these ions form a compound with a metal atom, the name of the metal comes
first
E.g. KOH is potassium hydroxide, CaCO3 is calcium carbonate

Writing and balancing chemical equations

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Chemical equations use the chemical symbols of each reactant and product
When balancing equations, there needs to be the same number of atoms of each Your notes
element on either side of the equation
The following non-metals must be written as diatomic molecules (i.e. molecules that
contain two atoms): H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2, Br2 and I2
Work across the equation from left to right, checking one element after another
If there is a group of atoms, for example a nitrate group (NO3-) that has not changed
from one side to the other, then count the whole group as one entity rather than
counting the individual atoms.
Examples of chemical equations:
Acid-base neutralisation reaction: NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) ⟶ NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)
Redox reaction: 2Fe2O3 (s) + 3C (s) ⟶ 4Fe (s) + 3CO2 (g)
In each equation there are equal numbers of each atom on either side of the
reaction arrow so the equations are balanced
The best approach is to practice lot of examples of balancing equations
By trial and error change the coefficients (multipliers) in front of the formulae, one by one
checking the result on the other side
Balance elements that appear on their own, last in the process

Worked Example
Example 1
Balance the following equation:
aluminium + copper(II)oxide ⟶ aluminium oxide + copper
Unbalanced symbol equation:
Al + CuO ⟶ Al2O3 + Cu

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 Your notes

Worked Example
Example 2
Balance the following equation:
magnesium oxide + nitric acid ⟶ magnesium nitrate + water
Unbalanced symbol equation:
MgO + HNO3 ⟶ Mg(NO3)2 + H2O

State symbols

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State symbols are written after each formula in chemical equations to show which
physical state each substance is in
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Brackets are used and they are not usually subscripted although you may come across
them written in this way
Aqueous should remind you of the word 'aqua' and means the substance is
dissolved in water
In other words it is a solution

The four state symbols show the physical state of substances at normal conditions
Symbol equations should be included when writing chemical equations.
An example of a reaction with state symbols is the reaction of copper carbonate with
hydrochloric acid:
CuCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) ⟶ CuCl2 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
Sometimes it can be hard to know what the correct state symbol is and we have to look
for clues in the identity of substances in a reaction
Generally, unless they are in a solution:
Metal compounds will always be solid, although there are a few exceptions
Ionic compounds will usually be solids
Non-metal compounds could be solids, liquids or gases, so it depends on chemical
structure
Precipitates formed in solution count as solids
In the worked examples above the final equations with the state symbols would be
2Al (s) + 3CuO (s) ⟶ Al2O3 (s) + 3Cu (s)
MgO (s) + 2HNO3 (aq) ⟶ Mg(NO3)2 (aq) + H2O (l)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Be careful when writing the state symbol of solutions of liquids. For example, ethanol,
or common alcohol, is a liquid at room temperature, so if it is pure alcohol then you
would be using (l) as the state symbol; most of the time alcohol is used as a solution in
water so (aq) is symbol to use.

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Balancing Ionic Equations
In aqueous solutions ionic compounds dissociate into their ions, meaning they separate Your notes
into the component ions that formed them
E.g. hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide dissociate as follows:
HCl (aq) → H+ (aq) + Cl-(aq)
KOH (aq) → K+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
It is important that you can recognise common ionic compounds and their constituent
ions
These include:
Acids such as HCl and H2SO4
Group I and Group II hydroxides e.g. sodium hydroxide
Soluble salts e.g. potassium sulfate, sodium chloride
Follow the example below to write ionic equations

Worked Example
Write the ionic equation for the reaction of aqueous chlorine and aqueous potassium
iodide.4
Answer:
Step 1: Write out the full balanced equation:
2KI (aq) + Cl2 (aq) → 2KCl (aq) + I2 (aq)
Step 2: Identify the ionic substances and write down the ions separately
2K+ (aq) + 2I- (aq) + Cl2 (aq) → 2K+ (aq) + 2Cl- (aq) + I2 (aq)
Step 3: Rewrite the equation eliminating the ions which appear on both sides of
the equation (spectator ions ) which in this case are the K+ ions:
2I- (aq) + Cl2 (aq) → 2Cl- (aq) + I2 (aq)

Deducing Symbol Equations

For some reactions, you will not be given the unbalanced equation but you will be
expected to use your knowledge learnt throughout the course to know or deduce the
formula of compounds and then balance the equations

Worked Example

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Aluminium burns in chlorine to form the white solid, aluminium chloride. Write the
balanced symbol equation, including state symbols, for the reaction.
Your notes
Answer:
Step 1: Work out the formula and state symbols of the reactants and products to
construct an unbalanced symbol equation:
Aluminium is a solid metal, like other pure metals, it is an element so its formula is
the same as its chemical symbol: Al (s)
From your knowledge of Group VII elements, you should know that chlorine is a
gas that exists as a diatomic molecule: Cl2 (g)
Aluminum chloride is a solid - this information is given in the question as you would
not be expected to know this. Its formula is deduced from the charges on the
ions present:
Aluminium has a 3+ charge and chloride ions have a 1- charge, therefore for the
compound to be neutral, 3 chloride ions are needed for every 1 aluminium
ion: AlCl3 (s)
The unbalanced symbol equation is thus:
Al (s)+ Cl2 (g) → AlCl3 (s)
Step 2: Balance the equation:
Make the number of Cl on the RHS an even number by adding a 2 in front of AlCl3:
Al (s)+ Cl2 (g) → 2AlCl3 (s)
This gives 6 Cl on the RHS so now balance the number of Cl on the LHS by adding
a 3 in front of Cl2:
Al (s)+ 3Cl2 (g) → 2AlCl3 (s)
Finally, there are now 2 Al on the RHS but only 1 on the LHS, so add a 2 in front of
the Al on the LHS:
2Al (s)+ 3Cl2 (g) → 2AlCl3 (s)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When balancing equations you cannot change any of the formulae, only the amount
of each atom or molecule. This is done by changing the numbers that go in front of
each chemical species.

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