Question

steps to represent the chemical formula of a compount​

Answer 1

When writing formula, the positive atom or ion comes first followed by the name of the negative ion. The chemical name for common table salt is sodium chloride. The periodic table shows that the symbol for sodium is Na and the symbol for chlorine is Cl. The chemical formula for sodium chloride is NaCl.

Answer 2

Answer:

Steps to writing chemical formulas

• 1. Write the symbols

Most chemical compounds have two names. The first name is the cation (positive ion) and the second name is the anion (negative ion).

In a binary compound, the first name will be a metal ion. The second name will be a nonmetal ion.

In a ternary compound, the first name will be a metal ion with the exception of ammonium. The second name will almost always be a polyatomic ion.

Examples:

Binary Ionic Compounds:

Sodium Chloride: Sodium is Na and Chloride is Cl

Magnesium Nitride: Magnesium is Mg and Nitride is N

Ternary Ionic Compounds:

Barium Phosphate: Barium is Ba and Phosphate is PO4

Ammonium Carbonate: Ammonium is NH4 and Carbonate is CO3

• 2. Determine the valence or charge of each symbol and write it as a superscript.

Examples:

Binary Ionic Compounds:

Sodium Chloride: Na+1, Cl-1

Magnesium Nitride: Mg+2, N-3

Ternary Ionic Compounds:

Barium Phosphate: Ba+2, PO4-3

Ammonium Carbonate: NH4+1, Carbonate is CO3-2

• 3. Determine the common multiple of the charges and balance the total positive and negative charge on the cation and anion.

Examples:

Binary Ionic Compounds:

Sodium Chloride: Since each sodium is +1 and each chloride is -1 then it will take one Na+ to balance one chloride with a -1.

Magnesium Nitride: Since each magnesium is +2 and each nitride is -3 then it will take three Mg+2 to balance two nitrides with -3.

Ternary Ionic Compounds:

Barium Phosphate: Since each barium is +2 and each phosphate is -3 then it will take three Ba+2 to balance two phosphates with -3.

Ammonium Carbonate: Since each ammonium is +1 and each carbonate is -2 then it will take two NH4+1 to balance one carbonate with -2.

• 4. The number of units of the cation and anion determined in step 3 above, those become the subscripts which are placed right after the respective symbol.

Use parenthesis () incase of polyatomic ions.

Examples:

Binary Ionic Compounds:

Sodium Chloride: NaCl

Magnesium Nitride: Mg3N2.

Ternary Ionic Compounds:

Barium Phosphate: Ba3(PO4)2

Ammonium Carbonate: (NH4)2CO3