Formulae - Definitions
Basic terms
- There are basic terms that you are expected to know from your previous studies
- Atom
- A single particle
- The smallest part of an element that can participate in a chemical reaction
- Element
- An atom or group of atoms of only one type, which can be chemically joined or not
- A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances
- Ion
- An atom that has become electrically charged
- An atom (or group of atoms) that has gained or lost electrons to become a charged species
- Molecule
- Two or more atoms chemically joined together
- Compound
- A substance with two or more elements chemically joined together
- Empirical formula
- The smallest whole-number ratio of atoms (of each element) in a compound/molecule
- Molecular formula
- The actual number of atoms (of each element) in a compound/molecule
- Atom