Question

What is the formula for acetic acid? Give your answer in the form A#B#, where the number is the subscript (don't include a 1 subscript explicitly). For example, the formula MgCl₂ would be entered as MgCl₂.

Answer 1

The molecular formula for acetic acid is C2H4O2 or CH3COOH, which reflects that a molecule of acetic acid contains two carbon, four hydrogen, and two oxygen atoms.

Step-by-step explanation:

The molecular formula for acetic acid is C2H4O2. This formula indicates that a molecule of acetic acid contains two carbon atoms, four hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms. A common representation of acetic acid in organic chemistry is CH3COOH, highlighting its functional groups.

To find the molecular formula from the empirical formula, we look at the molar mass. The molar mass of the empirical formula CH2O is 30.02 g/mol, while the actual molar mass of acetic acid is roughly double this value, at 60.05 g/mol. This suggests that the molecular formula of acetic acid is twice the empirical formula, leading us to C2H4O2 or CH3COOH.