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I propose a chemical....


Mercedes Benzene

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  • 2 weeks later...
How the heck can you just look at a representation of a molecule and know what it is? :eek_big:

 

Do you just know them (memorized), or is there a way of deducing it?

 

It's all based on trends that you pick up after a while.

The way I figured it out:

The smallest atoms are obviously Hydrogen, because they are terminal, and are only bonded to one thing. So far, that gives you [ce]H3[/ce].

Next, I looked at what the hydrogens were attached to. Based on the geometry and the number of bonds, it was most likely oxygen. It was an assumption, but a safe one. So that gives you [ce]O3H3[/ce].

That made the rest easy, because based on bonding/geometry trends, the central atom could be Boron or Phosphorous. Phosphorous didn't make sense to me in this instance, but Boron would make it Boric Acid.

:)

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