What is the chemical formula of vinegar?

1 Answer
May 2, 2017

Vinegar is an aqueous solution of #"acetic acid........"#

Explanation:

And the formula of acetic acid is #"H"_3"CC(=O)OH.........."#

Typically this is obtained by oxidation of alcohol. Sometimes, when you don't finish off a bottle of wine (and this does happen sometimes), the next night you try it, the alcohol has turned into vinegar and is undrinkable.

The New Testament states that on the way to Calvary, while carrying the cross, Jesus Christ was supposedly offered a sponge soaked in gall, i.e. a sponge soaked in vinegar, by a Roman centurion. The centurion was in fact performing a charitable act, as vinegar and water was the standard drink of the Roman army; i.e. it is non-alcoholic, tasty (well tastier than water), and the vinegar would have served to kill off some of the bugs in the water.