Draw the condensed structural formula and skeletal structure of the saturated fatty acid with 16 carbon atoms. What is the name of this fatty acid?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the problem. A saturated fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long hydrocarbon chain that contains only single bonds between carbon atoms. The problem specifies a saturated fatty acid with 16 carbon atoms.
2. Step 2: Identify the general structure of a saturated fatty acid. The formula for a saturated fatty acid is typically $CH\_3-(CH\_2)\_n-COOH$, where $n$ represents the number of CH₂ groups in the chain. For a 16-carbon fatty acid, the chain includes 14 CH₂ groups between the CH₃ group and the COOH group.
3. Step 3: Write the condensed structural formula. Start with the methyl group ($CH\_3$), followed by 14 methylene groups ($(CH\_2)\_\{14\}$), and end with the carboxylic acid group ($COOH$). The condensed structural formula is $CH\_3-(CH\_2)\_\{14\}-COOH$.
4. Step 4: Draw the skeletal structure. In a skeletal structure, each vertex represents a carbon atom, and hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon are implied. Draw a zigzag line with 16 vertices, where the first vertex represents the CH₃ group, the last vertex represents the COOH group, and the intermediate vertices represent the CH₂ groups.
5. Step 5: Name the fatty acid. A saturated fatty acid with 16 carbon atoms is called palmitic acid. This name is derived from its systematic name, hexadecanoic acid, where 'hexadec-' indicates 16 carbons and '-anoic acid' indicates a saturated carboxylic acid.

Key Concepts

Saturated Fatty Acids

Saturated fatty acids are types of fatty acids that have no double bonds between the carbon atoms in their hydrocarbon chain. This means that each carbon atom is fully 'saturated' with hydrogen atoms. They are typically solid at room temperature and are commonly found in animal fats and some plant oils.

Condensed Structural Formula

A condensed structural formula is a way of representing a chemical compound that shows the arrangement of atoms in a molecule without depicting all the bonds explicitly. In this format, groups of atoms are often grouped together to simplify the representation, making it easier to visualize the molecular structure.

Skeletal Structure

The skeletal structure, or line-angle structure, is a simplified representation of organic molecules where carbon atoms are represented by vertices and hydrogen atoms are implied. This method emphasizes the connectivity of the carbon backbone and is particularly useful for visualizing larger molecules, such as fatty acids, without cluttering the diagram with hydrogen atoms.