Question

What does the chemical formula of a compound tell you about the compound?

Answer 1

It tells you the elements in the compound as well as how many of each are in it.

For example, the chemical formula for glucose is `"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6`.

This tells you that there are 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms in one molecule of glucose.

We can also think of a compound in terms of moles, where 1 mole of `"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6"`, contains 6 moles C atoms, 12 moles H atoms, and 6 moles O atoms.