Alloy Nodica

CICT-125
2.4 Chemical Formulas contd.
Compound empirical formulas are easy to calculate if we have the compound's formula.
Academic exercise aside, reverse chronology is rarely used in reality. Acetic acid's molecular formula is
C2H4O2. This component helps give vinegar its distinctive taste. A molecule of acetic acid (Figure 2.21)
has two carbon atoms, four hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms. This is revealed by the following
formula. Two of the atoms are carbon atoms, while the others are oxygen atoms. Dividing the atom
ratio by the denominator gives CH2O, which has a 1:2:1 ratio. Note that a molecular formula is always
an empirical form in a whole number.

Understanding that the same atoms may be arranged in many different ways is imperative.
Molecules that have identical chemical formulas may have different types of bonding, which impacts the
molecular structures. Would it be possible to have a compound with the same formula as acetic acid,
C2H4O2, but a different molecular arrangement? And if that is the case, how many molecules would it
have?

If you think a compound with the formula C2H4O2 could exist, then you are correct, and you
have some excellent chemical insight. Formate is used in manufacturing, insecticide, and quick-drying
finishes, which are also made using two C atoms, four H atoms, and two O atoms. In contrast to the
methyl acetic acid arrangement, the methyl formate arrangement has an oxygen atom between the two
carbon atoms. Isomers—compounds with the same chemical formula but different molecular structures
—exist and are evident in acetic acid and methyl formate (Figure 2.23). This slight variation in atomic
arrangement results in a significant influence on the chemistry of the atoms. The thought of using
methyl formate as a substitute for vinegar (aka acetic acid) when making salad dressing just plain creeps
you out.

Isomers exist in various forms (Figure 2.24). Structural isomers are compounds with atoms
connected differently in molecule arrangements. Acetic acid and methyl formate are two examples of
these structural isomers. In addition, there are many types of spatial isomers, where the spatial
positioning of the atoms is varied. For instance, two isomers, which are mirror images of each other,
combine to form the compound carvone (found in caraway seeds, spearmint, and mandarin orange
peels). Carvone is the S(+)-isomer, which has a scent similar to caraway, while R(−)-carvone, or the R(−)-
isomer, has a scent like spearmint.