What is the difference between a #"chemical formula"#, and a #"chemical compound"#?

1 Answer
Oct 29, 2015

A chemical compound is what we put into the bottle. A chemical formula is what we write on the label to stick on the bottle.

Explanation:

Chemical compounds are mixtures of chemicals with definite proportions and definite physical properties (I know I am telling you nothing new). Chemical formulae are out attempts to represent these compositions (sometimes, rarely, the composition is wrong!).