What is the difference between a subscript and a coefficant in a chemical formula?

Answer 1

In a chemical formula, a subscript number is used to denote the number of that type of atom, for example H2SO4 has 2 Hydrogens, 1 Sulphur and 4 Oxygens. A superscript number is not usually used in chemical formulae, but is used in rate equations to show the order of reaction with respect to a particular reactant, enzyme or condition.

Answer 2

Subscripts tell us how many of a type of atom there are.

Ex. H2O = 2 Hydrogens + 1 Oxygen

Coefficients tell us how many of the molecule there are.

Ex. 2 H2O = 2 H2O's = 2x2 Hydrogens + 2x1 Oxygen

Answer 3

Subscripts are used in chemical formulas and cannot be changed when balancing a chemical equation. The subscripts indicate the numbers of atoms of elements that make up a molecule or formula unit of a compound. H2O is water, and the subscript 2 means that a water molecule has 2 hydrogen atoms, and the subscript for oxygen is understood to be 1, which means that a water molecule also has 1 oxygen atom. Coefficients are used in front of chemical formulas to indicate how many of that substance is required in the reactants and the products. If no coefficient is written, it is understood to be 1. The following chemical equation show how hydrogen and oxygen react to produce water. It is read as "Two hydrogen atoms plus one oxygen atom produce two water molecules." You could also read this as "Two moles of hydrogen plus one mole of oxygen produces two moles of water molecules." Notice that the formulas for hydrogen, oxygen, and water did not change.

Unbalanced: H2 + O2 ---> H2O

Balanced: 2H2 + O2 ---> 2H2O

Answer 4

Example of a chemical reaction:
2 NaOH + H2SO4 = Na2SO4 + 2 H2O
- 2 before NaOH and H2O are coefficients (number of molecules, atoms involved in the reaction).
- 2 in H2SO4 or Na2SO4 are subscripts (not visible with Wiki Answers) and the meaning is number of atoms in a molecule.

Answer 5

Subscripts are the little numbers that in properly typeset materials are slightly below the line of text, like the 2 in H2O. Coefficients are larger and written inline, like the 5 in CuSO4 . 5H2O. (I have approximately zero faith in the editor here, so despite the fact that I have marked the subscripts as being such in the editor, I suspect they will not be shown properly.)

Answer 6

Coefficients and subscripts, both have the same bonds, in their chemical reactions.

Answer 7

In chemistry, subscripts are used to show state of reactant or product. Coefficient is used to show the ratio of the particular reactants and products.