structural formula

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noun Chemistry.

a chemical formula showing the linkage of the atoms in a molecule diagrammatically, as H–O–H.

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Compare empirical formula, molecular formula.

Origin of structural formula

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby structural formula

struck, struck jury, struck measure, structural, structural anthropology, structural formula, structural functionalism, structural gene, structural geology, structural iron, structuralism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use structural formula in a sentence

The structural formula for benzene, C6H6, is one which it is difficult and inconvenient to reproduce in type.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
With the structural formula of Harries as a clue chemists all over the world plunged into the problem with renewed hope.
Creative Chemistry|Edwin E. Slosson
Hence guanidine from its structural formula is a carbodiamidimide.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth

British Dictionary definitions for structural formula

structural formula

noun

a chemical formula showing the composition and structure of a molecule. The atoms are represented by symbols and the structure is indicated by showing the relative positions of the atoms in space and the bonds between themH–C≡C–H is the structural formula of acetylene See also empirical formula, molecular formula

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for structural formula

structural formula

[ strŭk′chər-əl ]

A chemical formula that shows how the atoms making up a compound are arranged within the molecule. For example, the structural formula of aspirin is CH3COOC6H4COOH, indicating that it consists of an acetyl group (CH3COO) attached to the carboxylic acid (COOH) of a phenyl group (C6H4). Compare empirical formula molecular formula.