What is the difference between a structural formula and a molecular model?

Answer 1

A chemical formula is the number of atoms in a substance, and is the same as a molecular formula (provided the substance is a molecule - if not, it has no molecular formula). A structural formula shows how the atoms are linked, and there are different interpretations of this:

eg C3H8O2 is the chemical formula of 1,2 propan di-ol, which is the same as the chemical formula of 1,1 propan di-ol

the structural formula however is CH2OHCHOHCH3 for 1,2 propan di-ol and CH(OH)2CH2CH3 for 1,1 propan di-ol. A displayed formula shows all the bonds:

........H..OH...H.............O-H...H...H

........|....|.....|..................|....|.....|

....H-C.-.C.-.C.-.H.....H-O-C.-.C.-.C.-.H

........|....|.....|..................|....|.....|

....H-O...H....H.................H...H....H

1,2 propan di-ol........1,1 propan di-ol

----------------------------------

Some chemicals, such as table salt, have no molecule. Thus, they only have chemical formula but not molecular formula. The chemical formula of table salt is NaCl. There are other salts, such as Na2SO4, MgSO4, etc. (If you hear people saying "the salt molecule has the formula of NaCl...", believe me, they do not know what they are talking about.)

Some compounds exist as molecules- discrete entities, such as water. This kind of compounds have molecular formula. Water's is H2O.

Structural formula? Never heard of.

Answer 2

A molecular formula indicates the numbers and kinds of atoms in a molecule. A structural formula indicates the arrangement of the atoms in a molecule. For example, the molecular formula for carbon dioxide is CO2, indicating that each molecule consists of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. The structural formula for CO2 is O=C=O, which indicates that each oxygen atom is double bonded to the central carbon atom.

Answer 3

There are three types of chemical formulas. Chemical formulas describe chemical reactions. Anyways, the second type of chemical formula is the structural formula. The structural formula is the most informative out of the three, and it is the longest.

Answer 4

A molecular model is a tangible, three dimensional representation of a molecule showing the individual atoms that constitute the molecule, the chemical bonds between the atoms, and the angles between bonds when an atom forms more than one bond. A structural formula is a two dimensional representation of a molecule that contains less complete information than a molecular model but still shows the individual atoms and the bonds between them, sometimes in abbreviated form.

Answer 5

The molecular formula gives the kinds of elements and numbers of atoms of the elements in a molecule of a substance.

A structural formula shows how the atoms of the elements are arranged in the molecule.

For example, the molecular formula for carbon dioxide is CO2. The structural formula is O=C=O .

Answer 6

The chemical formula shows the atoms that make up the molecule, whereas the molecular formula basically states the correct quantity of all the atoms in the molecule.

Answer 7

Explain the similarities and differences in the information shown in a molecular formula and a structural formula for the same substance.

im not sure look up def of each.

Answer 8

Molecules are not the only type of chemicals. There are also elements, ions, radicals, or sections of molecules for which we sometimes want to have formulas also.