what is a chemical formula ? write steps to a chemical formula for ionic compounds.
Answers
☄1.The symbol and charge of the cation first and the anion second.
☄2.Transpose only the number of the positive charge to become the subscript of the anion and the number only of the negative charge to become the subscript of the cation.
Ionic compounds do not exist as molecules. In the solid state, ionic compounds are in crystal lattice containing many ions each of the cation and anion. An ionic formula, like NaCl , is an empirical formula. This formula merely indicates that sodium chloride is made of an equal number of sodium and chloride ions. Sodium sulfide, another ionic compound, has the formula Na2S . This formula indicates that this compound is made up of twice as many sodium ions as sulfide ions. This section will teach you how to find the correct ratio of ions, so that you can write a correct formula.
If you know the name of a binary ionic compound, you can write its chemical formula. Start by writing the metal ion with its charge, followed by the nonmetal ion with its charge. Because the overall compound must be electrically neutral, decide how many of each ion is needed in order for the positive and negative charge to cancel each other out.