QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

LABORATORY HIGHSCHOOL

General Chemistry 1
Module Quarter 1 - Module 2: Chemical Formula of Common Chemical Substances
Competencies recognize the formulas of common chemical substances
Discussion PRE-TEST A. Sentence Completion. Complete each statement with a word/
concept in the blank of the item.
1. The chemical symbol of oxygen is _____.
2. There is/are ____ hydrogen atom/s present in this chemical formula C6H12O6.
3. _____ is shorthand of expressing the types and the number of atoms present in
a substance.
4. C is the chemical symbol for ______.
5. There is/are _____ oxygen atom/s in H2O.
B. Identification.
Determine the types and number of atoms in the following chemical formulas.
6. BF3
7. C3H8
8. K2CO3
9. CH4
10. CF4

Lesson 1 Chemical Formula

Food, medicine and other product labels may sometime confuse you on the
ingredients or materials that contain them because these are written in their
chemical formula form. These formulas are often alien to us because of our lack of
understanding or idea about chemical formula. Most of the time, we associate
chemical formulas for scientists or chemists only. That is why some people tend to
lose interest on trying to understand the meaning of a chemical formula because
to them as ordinary persons, this thing is not important and just a waste of time if
they will study it. But because of the changing society coupled with information
explosion, it is important to us to grasp an idea on how to interpret a chemical
formula, and become acquainted with common formulas which we usually
encounter every day. This module will discuss the meaning of a given chemical
formula as well as the formula of some common chemical substances.

What’ s In?
LET US HAVE SOME FUN! Picture
Analysis. Analyze the picture below then
answer the corresponding guide
questions.

Guide Questions
1. What is the picture all about? Why?
2. Which substance is being represented by that structure? (Clue: It is the
universal solvent)
3. What is the formula of that universal solvent? Explain your answer.

Chemical Formula
If we are to study the meaning of chemical formula, two words are involved namely
chemical and formula. Chemical refers to a compound or substance while formula
refers to the symbolic expression. Thus, a chemical formula is a symbolic
expression of a compound or substance. It is also described as shorthand of
expressing the types and the number of atoms in a substance. What is the
Meaning of a Given Chemical Formula?
Once again, chemical formula is the shorthand of expressing the types and the
number of atoms in a substance. For example, CO2 is the chemical formula of a
substance known as carbon dioxide. But what does this CO2 formula mean? What
information can we get from this formula? In this substance based from its

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DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

LABORATORY HIGHSCHOOL

formula of CO2, the said substance is made up of two types of atoms, these are
carbon and oxygen. This is because the formula has two different letters that are
written in capital form; C and O. The capital letter is known as chemical symbol
that represents a certain substance known as element. Let us use the periodic
table below to determine the chemical symbol of the elements.

What is the Meaning of a Given Chemical Formula

Once again, chemical formula is the shorthand of expressing the types and the
number of atoms in a substance. For example, CO2 is the chemical formula of a
substance known as carbon dioxide. But what does this CO2 formula mean? What
information can we get from this formula? In this substance based from its
formula of CO2, the said substance is made up of two types of atoms, these are
carbon and oxygen. This is because the formula has two different letters that are
written in capital form; C and O. The capital letter is known as chemical symbol
that represents a certain substance known as element. Let us use the periodic
table below to determine the chemical symbol of the elements.

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DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

LABORATORY HIGHSCHOOL

The chemical formula also tells the number of each type of atom and the central
atom of the molecule specifically if it is not a diatomic molecule. The first chemical
symbol written at the right side of the formula tells us that it is the central atom,
or the atom located at the center of the molecule. So, for CO2, since C is the first
letter of the chemical formula, the C which is the carbon atom is the central atom.
If the letter is the chemical symbol
that represents an element, the
subscript represents the number of
atom in the chemical formula. In
CO2, the subscript of oxygen is 2
while carbon is 1. Even though there
is no number 1 indicated after letter
C in CO2, it is presumed that there
is one. So the number after the letter
refers to its number of atoms.

So let us take HCl as another example. Determine the

atoms represented by chemical symbols that make up
the formula, and determine the number of each atom.

In the chemical formula HCl, there are two elements

which are combined together. These are hydrogen
represented by the chemical symbol of H and chlorine
which is represented by the chemical symbol of Cl. Note that the l in Cl is not
expressed in capital letter. This means that the letter l is part of Cl and not
separate chemical symbol. After determining that HCl has two combined chemical
symbols. The next step is to identify the number of atoms of each element that
make up the chemical formula. So in HCl, since there is no number written after
H, we presumed that there is only 1 H. The same thing with Cl, there is only 1
atom of Cl in the formula. In short, there is only 1 Hydrogen atom and 1 Chlorine
atom.

Activity 1 – Chemical Formula and Molecular Structure Procedure 1. Determine

the common name, the types and number of atoms, and the molecular structure
of the given chemical formula in each item. 2. Fill-in the table with correct
information.

QUESTIONS
1. What is the common name of each substance?

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DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

LABORATORY HIGHSCHOOL

2. How is chemical symbol different form a chemical formula?

Enrichment You may choose to any of the added task to you.

Activities
1. Research on the active ingredient or chemical present in plant extract found in
the Philippines that has antiseptic property. Determine the chemical formula of
the active ingredient.
2. Formulate a right formula to successful life? How about to covid-free life?
Comprehensio FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
n Check Identification. Determine the common name, the types and number of atoms, and
the molecular structure of the given chemical formula in each item.

References Mendoza E. and Religioso T. (2008). Chemistry Laboratory Manual. Phoenix

Publication Mendoza E. (2003). Chemistry Textbook. Phoenix Publication

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