Question

In the writing of molecular formulas for covalent compounds, how is more than one atom of an element indicated?

That element is highlighted in yellow.
A subscript of the number of atoms is added after that element.
That element's symbol is listed more than once.
A superscript of the number of atoms is added after that element.

Answer 1

In molecular formulas for covalent compounds, more than one atom of an element is indicated by adding a subscript number of atoms after the element's symbol, such as CO₂ for carbon dioxide.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the writing of molecular formulas for covalent compounds, when there is more than one atom of an element present, it is indicated by writing a subscript after the symbol of the element. This subscript represents the number of atoms of that element in a molecule.

For instance, in the compound carbon dioxide (CO₂), the '2' is a subscript indicating there are two oxygen atoms bound to one carbon atom. If only one atom of an element is present, no subscript is used, as seen in the compound methane (CH₄), where no subscript is written next to the carbon (C) atom.

Thus, the correct way to indicate more than one atom of an element in a molecular formula is by adding a subscript of the number of atoms after that element. An example is the formula for dinitrogen trioxide, which is written as N₂O₃, indicating there are two nitrogen atoms and three oxygen atoms in one molecule of the compound.