Can anyone plz tell me why do we write sodium at the end of the compound formed when acetic acid is reacted with sodium bicarbonate? CH3COOH + NaHCO3->CH3COONa+CO2+H20 ^that is chemical equation .. so why is Na written at the end of CH3COONa

1 Answer
May 5, 2018

Here's what I think.

Explanation:

The formula for acetate ion is #"CH"_3"COO"^"-"#.

In the formulas of inorganic salts, we write the cation first, as in #"NaCH"_3"COO"# or #"NaC"_2"H"_3"O"_2#.

However, the #"Na"^"+"# is strongly attracted to the negatively charged #"O"# atoms in the #"COO"^"-"# group.

Organic chemists are interested in the structures of molecules, so they try to write formulas that represent the actual arrangement of atoms as closely as possible.

Thus, organic chemists write the formula for sodium acetate as #"CH"_3"COONa"# and for sodium hexanoate as #"CH"_3"CH"_2"CH"_2"CH"_2"CH"_2"COONa"#.

None of the formulas are "wrong." Chemists use formulas that are most useful in given situations.