tells me that 3 atoms of Hydrogen, one atom of Phosphorous, and four atoms of Oxygen are present on every molecule of this species (which happens to be Phosphoric acid).
H3PO4
4 atoms of Oxygen
Note, the Molecular formula tells us nothing about the geometry of the molecule, or which atoms are connected to which.
For example, in the above example: H3PO4 each of the hydrogens is attached to one of the oxygens, even though they’re written next to the Phosphorous.
Also, the molecular formula: H6C2O could correspond to both Ethanol (H3CH2COH) and dimethyl ether (H3COCH3)
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