Structural formula

A representation of a molecule that shows how its atoms are arranged and often how they are bonded. It can make connectivity and selected structural details explicit without depicting every property of the molecule.

Chemical bond: An interaction that holds atoms together in molecules and other structures. Lines in structural formulas commonly represent bonds between atoms.
Condensed structural formula: A structural notation that groups atoms into sequences or fragments instead of drawing every bond. It retains connectivity while compressing the drawing into text-like groups.
Skeletal formula: A shorthand structural formula that omits carbon symbols and most hydrogens in organic molecules. This common compact variant contrasts with drawings that label every atom.
IUPAC nomenclature: A system of rules for naming chemical compounds using standardized nomenclature. Systematic names and structural formulas provide complementary ways to specify compounds.
Covalent bond: A chemical bond formed when atoms share electron pairs. Most molecular structural formulas depict covalent bonds as lines.
Line-angle formula: A skeletal drawing in which line ends and vertices represent carbon atoms, with many hydrogens omitted. Its conventions explain how a sparse drawing encodes a full carbon framework.
Molecular formula: A notation that gives the number and kinds of atoms in a molecule without specifying their arrangement. Two isomers can share this formula while having different structural formulas.
Chemical drawing software: Software for creating, editing, and analyzing two-dimensional chemical structure diagrams. Digital tools render structural formulas and can convert them into other representations.
Stereochemistry: The study of the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules and its effects. Wedges and dashed bonds can encode spatial arrangement beyond connectivity.
Wedge-and-dash notation: A drawing convention using solid and hashed wedges to show bonds projecting toward or away from the viewer. It adds three-dimensional orientation to a flat structural diagram.

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