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Chemical Language 2
Chemical Language 2
For example, sodium sulphide has the formula Na2S. This means that sodium sulphide contains sodium atoms and sulphur atoms in the ratio of 2:1.
The chemical formula of a substance tells: which atoms are present in the substance; if the substance is ionic, the relative numbers of atoms of each element in the substance; if the substance is molecular, the actual number of atoms of each element in one molecule of the substance. The formula does not tell us whether the compound is ionic or molecular.
What is valency?
Each atom has a combining power called its valency. You can imagine that each atom has a number of hands. The number of hands is equal to the valency of that atom. Some atoms can have more than one valency.
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