A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules composed of atoms from more than one elements held together by chemical bonds. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure held together in a defined spatial arrangement by chemical bonds. Each compound has a fixed ratio between the elements. The elements stick together so strongly that the compound behaves like one substance.
The ratio of each element in the compound is expressed in a ratio in its chemical formula. A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, using the standard abbreviations for the chemical elements, and numerical subscripts to indicate the number of atoms involved. For example, a water molecule has formula H₂O indicating two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom.
A compound can be converted to a different chemical composition by interaction with a second chemical compound via a chemical reaction. In this process, bonds between atoms are broken in both of the interacting compounds, and new bonds formed. Two atoms of the same element bonded in a molecule do not form a chemical compound, since this would require two different elements. The chemical compound that is made depends upon what atoms it is made of and how they are joined together. There are four types of compounds, depending on how the constituent atoms are held together:
- Molecules held together by covalent bonds
- Ionic compounds held together by ionic bonds
- Inter-metallic compounds held together by metallic bonds
- Certain complexes held together by coordinate covalent bonds.
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