Chemistry Notation in Questions

Displaying Chemical Formulas

You can use the <h:chemical> tag to display most chemical formulas correctly using a simplified notation that precedes subscripts with an underscore (_) and superscripts with a caret (^). See the following examples.

<h:chemical> H_2O </h:chemical>

<h:chemical> Ca^2+ </h:chemical>

<h:chemical> SO_4^2- </h:chemical>

<h:chemical> [Co(SCN)_2(H_2O)_4]^+ </h:chemical>

Displaying Isotopes

You can use the <watex> tag and its \over markup to display isotope mass numbers over atomic numbers. See the following example.

Example	Display
<watex> \over{233}{91}Pa </watex>

Displaying Chemical Reactions

You can use the <h:reaction> tag to display most chemical reactions correctly using a simplified notation that precedes subscripts with an underscore (_) and superscripts with a caret (^), and replaces ->, <-, and <-> with reaction arrows. See the following examples.

<h:reaction> 2 H_2O_2 -> 2 H_2O + O_2 
</h:reaction>

<h:reaction> N_2(g) + O_2(g) <-> 2 NO(g) 
</h:reaction>

<h:reaction> 4 NO(g) + O_2(g) <- 2 N_2O_3(g) 
</h:reaction>

Optionally, you can type either <s:revrxarrow> or ⇌ to display ⇌.

Displaying Electron Configurations

You can use the <h:e-config> tag to display electron configuration notation correctly without having to indicate superscripts or italics. See the following examples.

<h:e-config> 1s2 2s2 2p5 </h:e-config>

<h:e-config> [He] 2s2 2p5 </h:e-config>

Displaying Equilibrium Expressions

You can combine the <watex> tag and its \frac markup with the <h:chemical> tag to display equilibrium expressions with fractions. See the following example.

Example	Display
<watex>\[ K_b \] = \frac{ <h:chemical>[OH^- ] <s:middot> [C_5H_5NH^+] </h:chemical> } { <h:chemical>[C_5H_5N] </h:chemical> } </watex>