Final answer:
There are four different alcohols that can be formed from the molecular formula C₄H₁₀O, which are n-butanol, isobutanol, secondary butanol, and tertiary butanol, excluding stereoisomers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how many different alcohols with the molecular formula C₄H₁₀O can be formed excluding stereoisomers. Alcohols are covalent compounds with one or more -OH (hydroxyl) groups attached to the carbon atoms in a chain. When determining how many different alcohols can be formed from a given molecular formula, we need to consider the possible structural isomers. For the formula C₄H₁₀O, there are several isomers, which include the following:
- n-Butanol (1-butanol), which has the OH group at the end of a straight chain.
- Isobutanol (2-methyl-1-propanol), which has the OH group on the first carbon of the chain and a methyl group on the second carbon.
- Secondary butanol (2-butanol), which has the OH group on the second carbon of the straight chain.
- Tertiary butanol (2-methyl-2-propanol or t-butanol), where the OH group is on a carbon that is connected to three other carbons.
These are the four different alcohols (not including stereoisomers) that can be formed from the molecular formula C₄H₁₀O.