How many atoms of each element are represented in the following:
A.) 3NaCl
B.) H2SO4
C.) 4H2SO4
Subscripts multiply the atom for which it's a subscript.
Coefficients multiply everything that follows.
3NaCl. 3Na and 3Cl
H2SO4 2H 1S 4O
4H2SO4 8H, 4S, 16O
To determine the number of atoms of each element in a chemical formula, you need to use the subscripts in the formula to count the number of atoms present.
A.) 3NaCl
In this case, the chemical formula NaCl represents one sodium (Na) atom and one chlorine (Cl) atom. The subscript 3 indicates that there are 3 units of NaCl. Therefore, to calculate the number of atoms of each element, we multiply the number of units (3) by the coefficients for each element.
Number of sodium atoms = 3 x 1 = 3
Number of chlorine atoms = 3 x 1 = 3
So, 3NaCl contains 3 sodium atoms and 3 chlorine atoms.
B.) H2SO4
The chemical formula H2SO4 represents two hydrogen (H) atoms, one sulfur (S) atom, and four oxygen (O) atoms. The subscripts indicate the number of atoms for each element.
Number of hydrogen atoms = 2 x 2 = 4
Number of sulfur atoms = 1 x 1 = 1
Number of oxygen atoms = 4 x 4 = 16
So, H2SO4 contains 4 hydrogen atoms, 1 sulfur atom, and 16 oxygen atoms.
C.) 4H2SO4
In this case, the subscript 4 indicates that there are 4 units of H2SO4. We can calculate the number of atoms of each element by multiplying the number of units (4) by the coefficients for each element.
Number of hydrogen atoms = 4 x 2 x 4 = 32
Number of sulfur atoms = 4 x 1 = 4
Number of oxygen atoms = 4 x 4 x 4 = 64
So, 4H2SO4 contains 32 hydrogen atoms, 4 sulfur atoms, and 64 oxygen atoms.