Counting Atoms in a Compound

Located on the extra page of notes. Copy what is in red.

Counting Atoms
Chemical formulas are made of two parts:
1. Atomic symbols- one or two letter abbreviation for an element Each symbol starts with a capital letter, so a new symbol starts when you see another capital letter. 2. Subscripts- numbers behind a symbol that tell how many atoms are present Ex. NaClO3 3 is the subscript of O, showing there are 3 O atoms in the compound

Counting Atoms
When you count the number of atoms for an element in a compound, you use the subscripts. Ex. NaCl- The subscript of Na is 1, so there is 1 Na atom. The subscript of Cl is 1, so there is 1 Cl atom.
Na- 1 Cl- 1

Counting Atoms
Ex. AlPO4 Al has a subscript of 1, so there is 1 Al atom. P has a subscript of 1, so there is one P atom. O has a subscript of 4, so there are 4 O atoms. Al- 1 P- 1 O- 4

Counting Atoms
When there are parentheses in a compound, multiply the subscript inside by the number outside to find the total number of atoms. Ex. Ca(NO3)2 Ca has a subscript of 1, so there is 1 Ca atom. N has a subscript of 1 x the 2 outside the parentheses, so there are 2 N atoms. O has a subscript of 3 x 2, so there are 6 O atoms. Ca- 1 O- 6 N- 2

Counting Atoms
NOW. Do the worksheet, both sides. Makes sure you write out the name of the element, or you will not get credit. The first one is done for you as an example.