Question

Knowing the carbonate anion would help because it allows you to understand the naming conventions for acids. Hypocarbonous acid forms when:

Option a) 3 oxygens are removed from carbonate
Option b) 2 oxygens are removed from carbonate
Option c) 1 oxygen is added to carbonate
Option d) 2 oxygens are added to carbonate

Answer 1

To form hypocarbonous acid, the most likely scenario from the given options would be to remove two oxygens from the carbonate anion, as this follows the typical pattern of naming conventions for other oxyacids.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you have asked about the formation of hypocarbonous acid involves understanding the changes in the number of oxygen atoms associated with the carbonate anion. The carbonate anion, CO₃²⁻, when loses oxygen atoms can form different types of acids. Specifically, to form hypocarbonous acid, option a) suggests removing 3 oxygens, option b) suggests removing 2 oxygens, option c) suggests adding 1 oxygen, and option d) suggests adding 2 oxygens. However, considering other oxyacids' naming conventions, where the 'ate' suffix typically changes to 'ous' to represent one less oxygen atom (as with sulfates turning to sulfurous acid), the same pattern would apply to carbonate turning into a lower-oxygen acid. Given this, option b) '2 oxygens are removed from carbonate' would be the most likely scenario to form hypocarbonous acid, though the naming does not conform strictly to IUPAC nomenclature.