Carboxylic Acid Formulas

What is Carboxylic Acid Formula?

The general molecular formula for carboxylic acid is CnH2n+1COOH. Carboxylic acids are nothing but organic compounds in which the carbon atom is bonded with an oxygen atom in the form of a double bond.

The carbon atom can also be bonded to a hydroxyl group (−OH) by a single bond. There is also a fourth bond that exists and it links the carbon atom to a hydrogen atom or to some other univalent combining group. Carboxylic acid generally consists of on carboxyl group. Carboxylic acids with two or more carboxyl groups attached are called dicarboxylic acids, tricarboxylic acids, etc.

Carboxylic Acids List

While we have already discussed the properties of carboxylic acid and other aspects like the nomenclature in our previous article, here, we will look at some of the important formulas of some of the common carboxylic acids. You can check out the list below.

Name Formula Number of Carbon Atoms
Methanoic acid HCOOH 1
Ethanoic acid CH3COOH 2
Propanoic acid CH3CH2COOH 3
Butanoic acid CH3(CH2)2COOH 4
Pentanoic acid CH3(CH2)3COOH 5
Hexanoic acid CH3(CH2)4COOH 6
Heptanoic acid CH3(CH2)5COOH 7
Octanoic acid CH3(CH2)6COOH 8
Nonanoic acid CH3(CH2)7COOH 9
Decanoic acid CH3(CH2)8COOH 10
Dodecanoic acid CH3(CH2)10COOH 12
Tetradecanoic acid CH3(CH2)12COOH 14
Hexadecanoic acid CH3(CH2)14COOH 16
Octadecanoic acid CH3(CH2)16COOH 18
Icosanoic acid CH3(CH2)18COOH 20

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For detailed discussion on the acidity of carboxylic acids and other chemistry concepts, you can keep visiting BYJU’s for a comprehensive learning experience.

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