Question

What Is the formula of acrolein?

Answer 1

Step 1. Determination of IUPAC name

• IUPAC name of Acrolein is Prop-2-enal. It is the simplest unsaturated Aldehyde.
• It's a colourless liquid with an unpleasant, stinging odour.
• The smell of burnt fat is created by Glycerol (as propane-1,2,3-triol) in the burning fat breaking down into Acrolein (as when cooking oil is heated to its smoke point).

Step 2. Determination of Root Word

• From the IUPAC name of Acrolein, the root word is “Prop”. Hence it has three carbon atoms.

Step 3. Determination of suffix

• The word “Enal” in the IUPAC name of Acrolein represents an Aldehyde functional group having a neighbouring double bond. The double bond will be in the second position.

Thus, the formula of Acrolein is ${\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{CHCHO}\mathrm{or}{\mathrm{CH}}_2=\mathrm{CHCHO}\mathrm{or}{\mathrm{C}}_3{\mathrm{H}}_4\mathrm{O}$.