Carboxylic acids are not hydrocarbons as they contain an two oxygen atoms.
They have the functional group ‘-COOH‘ in their molecule.
They are also unsaturated as they contain a ‘C = O’ bond in their molecule.
They have the general formula: CnH₂n₊₁COOH
If (n = 3), the compound would be:
C₃H₂₍₃₎₊₁COOH = C₃H₇COOH
Every carboxylic acid’s name ends in ‘-oic acid’.
An acid’s prefix always changes according the number of carbon atoms present in the compound.
Some common Carboxylic Acids:
| Name of the Alcohol | No. of Carbon atoms | Formula |
| Methanoic acid | 1 | HCOOH |
| Ethanoic acid | 2 | CH₃COOH |
| Propanoic acid | 3 | C₂H₅COOH |
| Butanoic acid | 4 | C₃H₇COOH |
| Pentanoic acid | 5 | C₄H₉COOH |
| Hexanoic acid | 6 | C₅H₁₁COOH |
| Heptanoic acid | 7 | C₆H₁₃COOH |
| Octanoic acid | 8 | C₇H₁₅COOH |
| Nonanoic acid | 9 | C₈H₁₇COOH |
| Decanoic acid | 10 | C₉H₁₉COOH |
Crack BMAT 