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Molecular Formula Examples
Propane
1. The prefix is prop-, which means that the compound contains 3 carbons (Table P). 2. The end of the word is -ane, which means that it’s an alkane (Table Q). The general
formula for alkanes is CnH2n+2. We replace the ‘n’ in the equation with the number of carbon atoms. There are 3 carbon atoms: C3H6+2 = C3H8. This means that there are 3 ‘C’s and 8 ‘H’s in propane, and the molecular formula is C3H8.
Question: How many carbon and hydrogen atoms are in butane? Answer:
1. The prefix is but-, which means that it contains 4 carbons (Table P). 2. The end is -ane, which means that it’s an alkane (Table Q).
The general formula for alkanes is CnH2n+2. We replace the ‘n’ in the equation with the number of carbon atoms. There are 4 carbon atoms – C4H8+2 = C4H10. This means that there are 4 ‘C’s and 10 ‘H’s in butane.
UNIT 11: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY © 410
