chemical formula
3
3.6
- noun
- /ˈkɛmɪkəl ˈfɔrmələ/
- Specialized
:
fórmula química
- What I wrote is the chemical formula for sodium hydroxide.
- chemical formula for water
Examples
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Sodium chloride has a simple chemical formula of NaCl, indicating it is composed of sodium and chlorine ions.
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The chemical formula for ethanol is C2H5OH, showing the elements and their proportions in this alcohol.
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If you leave it to the school, education consists of studying the elements in a chemical formula.
Academic text (1997) -
Now the chemical formula tells us what atoms we need to make a compound, but it does not tell us how the atoms are arranged.
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The chemical formula H2O, instantly recognized around the world, indicates that the water molecule is a bound system of three atoms: two of hydrogen and one of oxygen.
Academic text (2007) -
Methanol is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH).
Blog text (22) -
The chemical formula for glucose is C6H12O6, which represents its structure.
Synonyms
84
3.6
A rule written with symbols or numbers to show a relationship
1
4.1
The exact number and kinds of atoms in one small part of a chemical compound
How Detailed
- Specialized
- Specialized
3
3.6
- Specialized
1
4.1
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is transparently compositional: 'chemical' (relating to chemistry) modifies 'formula' (a symbolic rule or expression), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a formula used for chemicals (e.g. H2O). This structure and meaning are direct and cross-linguistically obvious (e.g. Spanish 'fórmula química'), making the MWE readily understandable from its parts.
Etymology
The term chemical formula comes from thinking of a substance like a short 'recipe'. The word formula means a small rule or 'recipe', and a chemical formula is the quick set of letters and numbers that shows which elements are in a substance and how many of each.