The chemical formula of table salt, NaCl, tells us what about the atomic bonding of this molecule?
a: The Sodium (Na) has to be present before the Chlorine (Cl)
b: The structure of the Sodium (Na) and the Chlorine (Cl) is a triangle
c: Exactly 1 atom of Sodium (Na) is bonded with 1 atom of Chlorine (Cl)
d: Nothing can be determined without a visual guide first
c makes sense.
The correct answer is c: Exactly 1 atom of Sodium (Na) is bonded with 1 atom of Chlorine (Cl).
The chemical formula of table salt, NaCl, provides information about the atomic bonding in this molecule. In the case of NaCl, the formula tells us that one atom of Sodium (Na) is bonded with one atom of Chlorine (Cl). This means that the NaCl molecule consists of one Sodium atom and one Chlorine atom, held together by a chemical bond. The chemical formula does not provide information about the order of the elements or the structure of the molecule; it only informs us about the ratio of the elements present in the compound.