Butyric acid, for example, has C3H7COOH or CH3CH2CH2CO2H or C4H8O2 (This one also applies to ethyl acetate). Are there different methods for writing formulas?
In: Chemistry
These are all synonymous ways of describing [this same structure](https://www.carlroth.com/medias/3277-SF-1000Wx1000H?context=bWFzdGVyfGltYWdlc3wyNzIwNnxpbWFnZS9qcGVnfGltYWdlcy9oYjgvaGUxLzg5NDAxMDY0NDg5MjYuanBnfDBlYjg4YmUzNDFmMTcyZGM4ZjRhZWU1MWU0MzkwYTM2Yzg1OTljNzM4OGRhOGVmOTZmMzU2OTQ2NjFjOWMxMGQ). However, I would argue that the third is bad because it could easily refer to multiple different structures from those same atoms and the second is really just a more verbose way of saying the first.
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