Question 24.1: Writing Condensed Structural Formulas Write the condensed st...

a. To write the condensed structural formula, it helps to identify the carbon backbone, or the skeleton of carbon atoms in the molecule. It is good practice to write the longest chain of carbon atoms in the molecule in a straight line. For this case, the skeleton looks like:

Next, write the appropriate number of \mathrm{H} atoms next to each carbon atom.

Finally, find the straight chain(s) of carbon atoms that contain more than two carbon atoms and remove only the bonds (dashes) that connect those carbon atoms.

After a little practice you will be able to combine these steps.

b. Following the steps outlined above, the condensed structural formula for the part b molecule is

Either of the above structures is correct; the choice of which structure you use depends on how much structural information you want to convey. Following the steps in the solution for part a, and recognizing that the -\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{3} fragment in the structure on the left is a chain of carbons, you should be able to arrive at the structure on the right.