Chemistry · Curated list
Water, Carbon dioxide, Ethanol and 37 more, ranked by how much of the world has written about each one.
Most written-about first. Each description summarises the compound's Wikipedia article, which its name links to.
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Chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen
An inorganic compound whose chemical formula is H₂O. It is a transparent substance with no taste or smell and almost no colour.
Wikidata · Photo: Blue_ice.jpg : Stephanie Costa Wassertropfen.jpg : Sven Hoppe Above_the_Clouds.jpg : Arun Kulshreshtha derivative work…, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carbon-oxygen gas
A chemical compound with the formula CO₂, made of molecules in which one carbon atom is covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms.
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Tropane alkaloid and stimulant drug
A tropane alkaloid that stimulates the central nervous system (CNS). It comes mainly from the leaves of Erythroxylum coca and E. novogranatense, two coca species native to South America. The leaves are made into cocaine paste, a crude mix of coca alkaloids; cocaine base is isolated from it and then turned into cocaine hydrochloride.
Wikidata · Photo: Davidfernandocoronel, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Anti-inflammatory medication
The genericised trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a drug of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory kind (NSAID) taken to reduce fever, pain and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. It treats inflammatory conditions such as rheumatic fever, pericarditis and Kawasaki disease.
Wikidata · Photo: Thesmallprint189 (picture) + Leridant (modification of colour) + Friedrich Graf (image correction), Public domain
Poisonous gas consisting of carbon and oxygen
A flammable, poisonous gas with no colour, smell or taste, slightly less dense than air. Its molecule is one carbon atom joined to one oxygen atom by a triple bond.
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Sterol biosynthesized by all animal cells
The main sterol of every animal, found throughout body tissues, above all in the spinal cord and brain, and in animal oils and fats.
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Triatomic oxygen molecule
A pale-blue gas with a distinctive sharp smell, also known as trioxygen. It is an inorganic molecule, O₃ in chemical notation.
Wikidata · Photo: Public domain Public domain false false This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Benjah-bmm27…, Public domain
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Medication for pain and fever
Also called acetaminophen, a drug that lowers fever (an antipyretic) and relieves pain (an analgesic), used for fever and for mild to moderate pain. It is sold widely over the counter, both generically and under various brand names, Panadol and Tylenol among them.
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Chemical compound (H2SO4)
Also spelled sulphuric acid, and known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, a mineral acid of hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur; its molecular formula is H₂SO₄. It is a viscous liquid with no colour or smell that mixes freely with water.
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Central nervous system stimulant
A stimulant of the central nervous system (CNS) in the methylxanthine class, and the psychoactive drug consumed most widely in the world. People take it mainly to stay awake or to boost physical or mental performance (its eugeroic, ergogenic and nootropic properties), and also recreationally, often in company.
Wikidata · Photo: The original uploader was Rafti Institute at English Wikipedia ., Attribution
15
Opioid analgesic and recreational drug
Also called diamorphine or diacetylmorphine, among other names, a morphinan opioid made from the latex of the opium poppy, once dried, and used mainly as a recreational drug for the euphoria it brings. Several countries use it in medicine to relieve pain, for instance in childbirth or during a heart attack.
Wikidata · Photo: Drug Enforcement Agency, Unknown Unknown, Public domain
16
Highly corrosive mineral acid
An inorganic compound with the formula HNO₃, and a mineral acid that is highly corrosive.
Wikidata · Photo: The original uploader was Fabexplosive at Italian Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0
17
Chemical acid found in vinegar
Systematically named ethanoic acid, an organic compound with the chemical formula CH₃COOH: a colourless, acidic liquid. It is the active ingredient of vinegar.
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Hydrocarbon compound (C6H6)
An organic compound whose molecular formula is C₆H₆. Its molecule is a flat hexagonal ring of six carbon atoms, each with one hydrogen atom attached.
Wikidata · Photo: Saint concrete, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hormone and medication
Also called epinephrine, and sometimes spelled adrenalin, a hormone and a medication that helps regulate the body's visceral functions. In appearance it is a white microcrystalline granule.
Primary male sex hormone
The main male sex hormone, and the androgen of males. In humans it drives the growth of male reproductive tissues, such as the prostate and testicles, and promotes secondary sexual characteristics such as greater bone and muscle mass and the growth of body hair.
23
Chemical compound
Commonly called baking soda, bicarbonate of soda or saleratus, and in IUPAC terms sodium hydrogen carbonate, a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO₃. It is a salt made of a bicarbonate anion (HCO₃⁻) and a sodium cation (Na⁺).
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Caustic soda, with formula NaOH
Also known as caustic soda, or more generally as lye, an inorganic compound whose formula is NaOH. It is a white ionic solid made of hydroxide anions OH⁻ and sodium cations Na⁺.
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Psychedelic drug
Lysergic acid diethylamide, known as LSD and nicknamed acid or Lucy: a semisynthetic psychedelic drug made from ergot and known for its powerful psychological effects.
Wikidata · Photo: U.S. federal government, Public domain
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Simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants
Also called fruit sugar, a common monosaccharide, or simple sugar. It is a reducing hexose: more precisely a ketonic simple sugar, which occurs in many plants and is often joined there to glucose to make the disaccharide sucrose.
Wikidata · Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Chemical compound with formula NaCl
An ionic compound, NaCl in chemical notation, meaning sodium and chloride ions in a 1:1 ratio. Brittle and hygroscopic, transparent or translucent, it occurs naturally as the mineral halite.
Wikidata · Photo: Michel32nl at nl.wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Energy-carrying molecule in living cells
Usually shortened to ATP, a nucleoside triphosphate that supplies free energy of about 58 kJ/mol to power many processes in living cells, among them chemical synthesis, muscle contraction and the propagation of nerve impulses. It is found in every known form of life and is often called the "molecular unit of currency" for moving energy within cells.
Drug for erectile dysfunction and hypertension
A medication, sold as Viagra among other brand names, used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and erectile dysfunction. It is sometimes also used off-label for some symptoms of secondary Raynaud's phenomenon.
35
Chemical compound
A chemical compound whose chemical formula is CaCO₃. It is common in rocks as the minerals aragonite and calcite, most notably in limestone and chalk, and is found in pearls, eggshells, the shells of gastropods and the skeletons of shellfish.
Wikidata · Photo: Picture taken August 2005 by User:Walkerma ., Public domain
Chemical compound
Also called trinitroglycerin (TNG), glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), nitro, or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, a dense, oily, explosive liquid, colourless or pale yellow. It is usually made by treating glycerol with white fuming nitric acid, a nitration, under conditions suited to forming the nitric acid ester; chemically it is a nitrate ester, not a nitro compound, but it keeps its traditional name.
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Oxide of silicon
Also called silica, an oxide of silicon whose chemical formula is SiO₂, found in nature most often as quartz. Across much of the world it is the chief component of sand.
Every Wikidata item that is a type of chemical entity, the class Wikidata files compounds under, and that has its own English Wikipedia article, ranked by the number of Wikimedia sites with a page about it — Wikipedia's language editions, mostly, and sister projects such as Wikiquote. That counts how many communities independently thought it worth describing, and nobody can buy a place on it. The top 40 are shown.
Wikidata files these under this list's query, but they are not what the list is about:
Fetched from Wikidata on 2026-09-25. Each description is this site's summary of the entry's Wikipedia article, which its name links to: the wording is ours, the facts are Wikipedia's, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. To correct an entry, correct it there; the next refresh carries the change.
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