Question

Write the chemical formula of the given compound:-
Potassium oxide

Answer 1

Hint: As we know that a chemical formula is the representation of all the atoms different in their respective quantities that are present in a molecule or a compound. This may also be known as the molecular formula in case of molecules. It gives us the information regarding the exact number of atoms present in that molecule or compound.

Complete answer:
Let us first discuss about chemical formula as follows:-
-Chemical formula: It generally represents the quantities of atoms that are involved in a molecule or a compound. While writing a chemical formula given compound, the cation is always named and written first succeeded by the anion of that molecule. The cation is a positively charged ion whereas anion is a negatively charged ion.
-We have been given potassium oxide. This compound is composed of potassium and oxygen atoms. The potassium ion is represented as, ${{K}^{+}}$ as it is a cation whereas the oxide ion is represented as, ${{O}^{2-}}$ which is an anion.
-The chemical formulas are usually written in such a way so that valence charges present in the atoms compensate each other. This means that a single positive charge containing ion cannot form a molecule or compound with an ion having a charge of negative two. Thus those positive ions are taken in a quantity of two in order to compensate for the valence of the negative ions.
Here, potassium are taken 2 in number, as ${{K}^{+}}$has a charge of +1, while ${{O}^{2-}}$has a charge of -2, in order to balance the charges of the both the atoms which will form the following chemical formula for potassium hydroxide:${{K}_{2}}O$
Therefore, the chemical formula for potassium oxide is ${{K}_{2}}O$.

Note:
Potassium oxide is an inorganic compound which is extremely reactive in nature. It also readily reacts with water. It is mainly used in the manufacturing of agricultural products like fertilizers and pesticides.
-Also learn the valencies of all the groups along with their elements in the periodic table for solving these types of questions.