Answer :

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Answer: the molecular formula is C₄H₁₀

You can also express it as: CH₃ - CH₂ - CH₂ - CH₃.


Explanation:


1) The molecular formula is the chemical formula for a covalent compound. It shows the elements present in one molecule of the compound: type of atoms and the number of each.


The number of each type of atoms is indicated by the subscript to the right of the symbol.


2) Butane is the alkane with 4 carbon atoms.


3) The general formula for the alkanes is CₓH₂ₓ₊₂, meaning thar for x atoms of C there are 2x+2 atoms of H. Therefore, for 4 C atoms there are 2(4)+2 = 8 + 2 = 10 H atoms.


That is why the molecular formula of butane is C₄H₁₀, meaning that each molecule of this alkane has 4 atoms of carbon and 10 atoms of hydrogen.

The other expression: CH₃ - CH₂ - CH₂ - CH₃, shows that this compounds  is a chain, in which each C has 4 bonds, one with other C atom to the right, one with other C atom to the right and the difference (2 or 3) with H atoms.

The molecular formula of butane is [tex]\boxed{{{\text{C}}_{\text{4}}}{{\text{H}}_{{\text{10}}}}}[/tex].

Further explanation:

The molecular formula is a chemical formula that depicts the total number and kinds of atoms present in a molecule. For example, molecular formula of carbon dioxide is [tex]{\text{C}}{{\text{O}}_2}[/tex].

Hydrocarbon is a term for the organic compounds that consist of hydrogen and carbon only.

Types of hydrocarbons:

1. Saturated hydrocarbons

The simplest hydrocarbons that are composed of only single bonds are called saturated hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons have the general formula of [tex]{{\text{C}}_n}{{\text{H}}_{2n + 2}}[/tex], where n is the number of carbon atoms. These hydrocarbons have suffix “ane” in their names. Examples of such hydrocarbons are methane, hexane, and propane.

2. Unsaturated hydrocarbons

These have one or more multiple bonds in them. These hydrocarbons have suffix “ene” or “yne”, depending on whether there is a double or triple bond between them. Hydrocarbons comprising of double bonds are called alkenes and those having triple bonds are called alkynes.

The name of butane includes the suffix “ane”. This implies it is a saturated hydrocarbon and contains only single bonds in it. The prefix “but” indicates the presence of four carbon atoms in this molecule.

Substitute 4 for n in the general formula of alkane [tex]\left( {{{\text{C}}_n}{{\text{H}}_{2n + 2}}} \right)[/tex] to find out the formula of butane.

 [tex]\begin{aligned}{\text{Molecular formula of butane}} &= {{\text{C}}_{\text{4}}}{{\text{H}}_{\left( {{\text{2}}\left( {\text{4}} \right){\text{ + 2}}} \right)}}\\&= {{\text{C}}_4}{{\text{H}}_{10}}\\\end{aligned}[/tex]

Learn more:

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Answer details:

Grade: Senior School

Subject: Chemistry

Chapter: Stoichiometry of formulas and equations

Keywords: molecular formula, butane, C4H10, 4, ane, ene, yne, alkane, alkyne, alkene, saturated hydrocarbon, unsaturated hydrocarbon.

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