What do the parentheses mean in a chemical reaction and how they are used

Parantheses mean present of a subgroup or a group of polyatomic ions in a chemical reaction.

Explanation:

In a chemical reaction, sometimes, a compound may be composed of group of polyatomic ions with other ions. Some of the polyatomic ions are sulfate, carbonate, nitrate, hydroxide, bicarbonate, ammonia etc.

So these polyatomic ions are formed by combining two or more elements. Thus, if the number of polyatomic ions in a compound is more than one, then we use parathesis and write those polyatomic ions in it and write the number of polyatomic ions present in the compound as subscript of the parathesis.

For example, Fe₂ (SO₄) ₃

So here SO₄ is a polyatomic ion and in the compound 3 atoms of SO₄ is required to neutralize the compound and thus paranthesis is used. Thus, parantheses mean present of a subgroup or a group of polyatomic ions in a chemical reaction.