By electron crystallography:-
The crystal structure of C60 at liquid helium temperature was examined by the electron diffraction method. A similar method was used to discover the complex structure of DNA.
Scientists use a structural formula to show the shape of a molecule.
Scientists confirmed the formula C60 for buckminsterfullerene through experiments involving mass spectrometry and x-ray crystallography. These techniques allowed them to determine the molecular structure, which consists of 60 carbon atoms arranged in a hollow sphere resembling a soccer ball.
when using mass spectrometry to look at what they had made after their experiments with carbon, the scientists saw that the two most abundant forms of carbon made were c60 and c70. C60 can be organised into a football shape made from pentagons and hexagons, and to increase the football shape's size while keeping it geometrically symmetrical you need 10 more carbon atoms, which would explain why there were both c60 and c70 molecules in large quantities. This was considered proof that it had to be the shape of a football, because otherwise there would not be c70 aswell.
A molecule is the smallest unit of most chemical compounds. Scientists use a kind of shorthand called a chemical formula that shows the type and number of elements in a molecule. For example, a water molecule is written as H2O, which means there are 2 atoms of Hydrogen and 1 atom of Oxygen.
Molecule
the chemical formula for carbon is C and for chlorine is Cl.
The chemical formula for buckminsterfullerene is C60, which signifies that it is composed of 60 carbon atoms arranged in a unique structure resembling a soccer ball.
The formula unit is the representation of a molecule.
CoCl2 is a formula unit, as it represents the chemical formula for cobalt (II) chloride, which is an ionic compound consisting of cobalt ions (Co2+) and chloride ions (Cl-). It is not a diatomic molecule, which would consist of two atoms of the same element bonded together.
A molecule contain two or more atoms of chemical elements; each molecule has a specific formula.
The structural formula show the spatial aspect of the molecule.
The structural formula show the spatial aspect of the molecule.