3.6Formulae for common chemical compounds

Most of these formulae appear in molecular chemical form rather than structural form. For example, ethanol appears here as C2H6O rather than C2H5OH. Also, the entries for fructose and glucose are identical (C6H12O6) despite the two compounds having di erent structures. This means most of the formulae shown in this section merely represent the ratios of each element in a compound, making little or no attempt to convey the structure of the molecule.

It should be noted that this list is definitely not exhaustive, but merely attempts to show formulae for some common compounds.

•Acetone: C3H6O

•Acetylene: C2H2

•Alcohol, methyl (methanol): CH4O

•Alcohol, ethyl (ethanol): C2H6O

•Alcohol, isopropyl (isopropanol): C3H8O

•Alcohol, butyl (butanol): C4H10O

•Alcohol, phenol: C6H6O

•Aluminum oxide (alumina): Al2O3

•Ammonia: NH3

•Ammonium carbonate: (NH4)2CO3

•Ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac): NH4Cl

•Ammonium nitrate: N2H4O3

•Aromatic hydrocarbons:

Acetylene: C2H2

Ethylene: C2H4

Propylene: C3H6

Butylene: C4H8

Benzene: C6H6

Toluene: C7H8

Styrene: C8H8

Napthalene: C10H8

•Calcium carbonate (limestone, marble): CaCO3

•Calcium chloride: CaCl2

•Calcium hydroxide: Ca(OH)2