Sure! Let's analyze the chemical formula and its notation.
The chemical formula \( \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_3 \) represents sodium sulfite.
In chemistry, a coefficient placed in front of a chemical formula indicates the number of molecules of that compound. So, when we see \( 4 \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_3 \), it implies the following:
- The number "4" in front of \( \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_3 \) indicates that there are four units, or molecules, of sodium sulfite.
- It does not mean that there are four atoms of any particular element within the compound.
- It does not represent four atoms of sodium sulfite, which wouldn’t make sense because an atom is the smallest unit of an element.
- Finally, it does not signify that there are four different elements in sodium sulfite. Sodium sulfite has three types of elements: sodium (Na), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O).
Therefore, the correct interpretation of the "4" in the formula \( 4 \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_3 \) is:
There are four molecules of sodium sulfite.
So the answer is:
There are four molecules of sodium sulfite.
