Labster Logo

Structural formulas

A structural formula gives more information about the structure of a molecule. The structural formula for propane describes the relationship between the carbon and hydrogen atoms with lines. A condensed structural formula gives almost the same information through the arrangement of atoms.

The structure of the propane molecule depicted in three different ways. Propane is a simple hydrocarbon molecule consisting of three carbon atoms bonded together in a straight line, with each carbon atom forming single bonds with two hydrogen atoms, and there are eight hydrogen atoms in the molecule. The first image is an illustration of the molecule where the carbon molecules are shown as big spheres and the hydrogen atoms as smaller ones. The second image is the structural formula of the molecule, where carbon atoms are depicted as the letter "C" and the hydrogens as the letter "H". The last one is the condensed structural formula, which is C H 3 C H 2 C H 2.

Figure 1: The structure of the propane molecule can be described with a structural formula and a condensed structural formula.

Referred from:

Article
Chemical formulas