Formula Equations
Study Jams Summary:
When two elements bond together that is called a compound. This happens all the time in the universe. When elements combine together it is called a chemical formula. In a chemical formula there are element symbols as well as number before and after them.
This is a chemical formula for sodium sulfate. The two behind the "Na" is a subscript. That number is there to tell how many of that element is in the compound. But there are not four SO's. When ever there are two capital letter next to each other, those are two different elements. In this case, Sulfur and Oxygen. In this compound there are four Oxygen element since there is a number four to the right of it.
The coefficients represent how many of these molecules are this compound. In this example there are 2 H2's that make up this compound. That means that there are four hydrogen atoms total. This is because the 2 behind the H times the 2 after the H means four total hydrogen atoms. You always multiply the coefficient and the subscript together to find out how many elements there are.