Isomers, exemplified by acetic acid and methyl formate, showcase unique properties despite sharing a molecular formula. This aligns with Dalton's postulate, emphasizing isotope-induced mass differences while maintaining identical chemical traits.
It is crucial to recognize that atoms can be arranged in different ways, even with a consistent molecular formula. Such compounds with the same formula but different bonding structures are called isomers.
Regarding the compound acetic acid (C_2H_4O_2), another compound with the same formula would exhibit a different structure due to the arrangement of its molecules being alternative. A potential example is methyl formate (HCOOCH_3), where atoms are connected in a different sequence, resulting in differing properties from acetic acid.
Isomers have unique physical and chemical properties despite having the same types of atoms. This concept adheres to Dalton's revised postulate, which states that atoms of the same element must display identical chemical properties, but may differ in mass due to the presence of isotopes.
The isotopes of an element have identical chemical properties because they possess the same number of protons and electrons, but they can differ in their number of neutrons, affecting their mass.