for example, CF3CO2H?
2007-07-18 22:31:34 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
trifluoroacetic acid
that's the name of the compound...
trifluoro is for the three fluorines (F3)
it's acetic because it's formed from the electrofluorination of acetic acid...
2007-07-18 23:05:59 · answer #1 · answered by chem-o-phobic 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Just get a periodic table- it will tell you what all the symbols mean.
The tiny numbers at the foot of the symbols tell you how many atoms of that substance there are.
If it's in brackets, it's a polyatomic ion.
Large-font numbers in front of a molecule (in an equation) tell you how many of that molecule you need for that reaction.
(s)-solid
(l)-liquid
(g)-gas
(aq)-dissolved in water.
The compound you have has 2 carvons, 3 flourines, 1 oxygen adn 2 hydrogens. The carbons are listed seperately becuse of the different configuration.
Copy and paste that into wikipedia and it will tell you what it is.
2007-07-19 05:58:31 · answer #2 · answered by Bob B 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋