BRAINCAKEEmpirical Formula
The empirical formula is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element in a compound.
Some substances do not exist as individual molecules. For example sodium chloride is an ionic salt that exists as a giant lattice. The formula NaCl gives the whole number ratio of atoms of sodium and chlorine.
NaCl is also called the formula unit when calculating relative masses.
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Key terms in this lesson
- Relative atomic mass
- The weighted mean mass of an atom of an element compared to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
- Relative molecular mass
- The weighted mean mass of a molecule compared to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
- Mole
- The amount of substance that contains as many particles as there are atoms in exactly 12g of carbon-12.
- Molecular formula
- The actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule.
More in Amount of Substance
- Finding the Number of Moles of Gas
- Finding the Relative Molecular Mass of a Gas
- Example Question - 1
- Example Question - 2
- Example Question - 1
- Example Question - 2
- Molecular Formula
- Combustion Analysis
All 33 lessons in Amount of Substance · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics