chemical formula of vinegar

Vinegar is a relatively concentrated aqueous solution of acetic acid , a weak organic acid that has a two-carbon backbone. In addition to acetic acid, most vinegars (particularly non-distilled ones) also contain a wide variety of other organic compounds, including aromatics, other acids, and more.

In view of the above, talking about the chemical formula of vinegar can be somewhat ambiguous, since only pure substances have a chemical formula, and vinegar is by no means a pure chemical substance. However, since the main component of vinegar (not counting the solvent, which is water) is acetic acid, and that any other components that may be present in the different types of vinegar are only found in trace amounts, we will discuss below the chemical formula of vinegar as if referring to the chemical formula of acetic acid.

NOTE: For anyone who is interested in the composition of vinegar (ie, the identity and proportion of all the components that make up the different types of vinegar), we suggest reading this entry instead of this article.

Before describing the chemical formula of acetic acid, let’s take a brief look at what chemical formula means and the types of chemical formulas that exist.

What is a chemical formula?

The chemical formula is the way chemists represent chemical substances on paper. There are different types of chemical formulas, from the simplest that provide only basic information about a substance, to the most complex that include all kinds of structural information such as molecular geometry, covalent radii, bond angles, and more.

We can, then, distinguish different types of chemical formulas. The most important ones are:

• Empirical formula: Indicates the elements that constitute a substance together with subscripts that represent the minimum ratio of whole numbers between these elements.
• Molecular formula: Indicates the exact composition of a molecular compound, indicating the number of atoms of each element that make up each molecule.
• Semi-developed formula: It is a type of chemical formula used in organic chemistry that shows the order in which the atoms of the carbon chain are connected, but does not show the bonds themselves.
• Developed formula or Lewis structure: It is a structural formula in which the connectivity between all the atoms that make up a molecule is shown in detail, showing all the atoms and all the chemical bonds.
• Lineoangular structure: It is a summary way of representing organic molecules in which neither the carbon atoms nor the hydrogens attached to them (called implicit hydrogens) are shown, but only the carbon-carbon bonds and heteroatoms (N, O, P and halogens). In these structures, the carbon chain is represented as a broken line (hence the term lineoangular) in which it is assumed that there is a carbon with all its hydrogens at each vertex or end of the line.
• Three-dimensional structural formula: It consists of a representation of the molecular structure that shows the projections in space of the different groups that make up the molecule.
• 3D molecular model: It is a computerized rendering of the three-dimensional structure that seeks to get as close as possible to the real shape of the molecules.

chemical formula of acetic acid

Acetic acid or ethanoic acid is an organic compound belonging to the family of carboxylic acids. These are characterized by having a carboxyl (-COOH) functional group.

Empirical formula of acetic acid

Acetic acid has one carbon for each oxygen and two hydrogens, so its empirical formula is:

Acetic acid molecular formula

The molecular formula of acetic acid is twice its empirical formula:

Semi-developed formula of acetic acid

The above semideveloped formula shows that the main chain of acetic acid is made up of two carbons, the first linked to three hydrogens and the second linked to an oxygen and a hydroxyl (OH) group. The parentheses indicate that the hydroxyl is attached to carbon rather than oxygen, although this is not always used because the carboxyl group (-COOH) is easily recognized.

Expanded formula or Lewis structure of acetic acid

In this formula, all the bonds between all the atoms present are clearly seen. More information is obtained than in the previous formula since, in that one, it is not possible to see what type of bonds occur between each pair of atoms.

Lineoangular structure of acetic acid

In the linear angular structure, the two carbon atoms of acetic acid are not shown, nor the three hydrogens attached to the first. However, it is understood that they are there, since at both ends of the central horizontal line (representing the single bond between the two carbons) it is understood that two carbons with the maximum number of hydrogens possible to complete their valence of four are present. . Instead, hydrogen bonded to oxygen does show up.

Three-dimensional structural formula of acetic acid

In this structure, all the bonds shown as uniform solid lines lie in the plane of the paper (or rather the screen), while the wedge-shaped bond to the hydrogen atom sticks out of the screen and the dotted bond lies behind the plane of the screen.

3D molecular model of acetic acid

These are two examples of 3D models of acetic acid. The first shows the three-dimensional structure with the relative sizes of each atom, while the second shows the extent of the electron clouds of each atom. The latest model is one of the most realistic representations of the shape and structure of an acetic acid molecule.

References

Carey, F., & Giuliano, R. (2021). Organic Chemistry (11th ^ed .). McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España SL

Concept of. (nd). Acetic Acid – Concept, formula, properties and applications . https://concepto.de/acido-acetico/

DLEP. (2018). TOXICOLOGICAL DOCUMENTATION FOR THE VL UPDATE OF THE OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMIT OF ACETIC ACID . https://www.insst.es/documents/94886/431980/DLEP+119+%C3%81cido+ac%C3%A9tico++A%C3%B1o+2018.pdf/1d5b5a9a-4438-4105-8b77- 3e68196f2701?version=1.0&t=1551310408920

Máxima Uriarte, J. (2021, September 30). Acetic Acid: Properties, Applications, and Characteristics . Characteristics. https://www.caracteristicas.co/acido-acetico/