Carboxylic Acids
2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 4. Organic Chemistry → Carboxylic acids
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The carboxyl group and the general formula
Carboxylic acids are the family whose members carry the -COOH group at the end of a chain. This lesson fixes the functional group, the general formula and the trap inside the letter n, which counts only the alkyl chain and never the whole molecule.
What you know already
From Manufacture of Ethanol you already know the two-carbon alcohol and both routes that produce it. This note follows the family one step further along: chains that end in the acid group -COOH, the recipe that sizes them, and the kitchen bottle that holds the best-known member.
Key points of understanding
- Carboxylic acids are compounds containing the carboxyl functional group, -COOH.
- The general formula is CnH2n+1COOH, which shortens to RCOOH.
- The R stands for a varying hydrocarbon chain.
- In the general formula, n counts only the alkyl chain, never every carbon.
- Methanoic acid has n equal to zero, the classic point of confusion.
Diagram of the general structure of a carboxylic acid. The R- represents a varying hydrocarbon chain
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1.The carboxyl group and the general formula
Carboxylic acids are the family whose members carry the -COOH group at the end of a chain. This lesson fixes the functional group, the general formula and the trap inside the letter n, which counts only the alkyl chain and never the whole molecule.
Diagram of the general structure of a carboxylic acid. The R- represents a varying hydrocarbon chain
Key points
- Carboxylic acids are compounds containing the carboxyl functional group, -COOH.
- The general formula is CnH2n+1COOH, which shortens to RCOOH.
- The R stands for a varying hydrocarbon chain.
Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_2z53qk2CdWrVVc7V, pinned at 45d591243cae · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources e967e75f1339
