Question

Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honey bees. Cerotic acid is a long chain saturated fatty acid most commonly found in beeswax. The formula for cerotic acid is shown below.

CH3(CH2)24COOH
How many more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) are present in the formula?
a) 24
b) 25
c) 26
d) 27

Answer 1

There are 25 more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) in the formula for cerotic acid. Therefore, there are 24 hydrogen atoms (H) in the CH2 chain and 1 hydrogen atom in the carboxyl group, resulting in a total of 25 hydrogen atoms. This means there are 25 more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) in the formula.

Step-by-step explanation:

The formula for cerotic acid is CH3(CH2)24COOH, which contains 26 carbon atoms (C). Each carbon atom will form four single bonds with either another carbon atom or a hydrogen atom. The formula consists of a chain of 24 carbon atoms (CH2)24 and an additional terminal carbon atom with a carboxyl group (-COOH).

Therefore, there are 24 hydrogen atoms (H) in the CH2 chain and 1 hydrogen atom in the carboxyl group, resulting in a total of 25 hydrogen atoms. This means there are 25 more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) in the formula.

There are 25 more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) in the formula for cerotic acid. The formula consists of a chain of 24 carbon atoms (CH2)24 and an additional terminal carbon atom with a carboxyl group (-COOH). Therefore, there are 24 resulting in a total of 25 hydrogen atoms. This means there are 25 more atoms of hydrogen (H) than carbon (C) in the formula.