1 Explain the meaning of various chemical formulas (empirical, molecular, and structural formulas). 2  Calculate weight and mole percentages from a formula.  Derive chemical formulas from a given set of information.
A: Zinc belongs to the family of elements found in Group 12. Some other elements in this family are cadmium and mercury. These three elements are metals, but mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature, while zinc and cadmium are solids at room temperature.
Group 14 is the carbon family. The five members are carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, and lead. All of these elements have four electrons in their outermost energy level. Of the Group 14 elements, only carbon and silicon form bonds as nonmetals (sharing electrons covalently). Silicon and germanium are semimetals (metalloids), existing in compounds with either +4 or -4 charges. Tin and lead are definitely metals.