Why is Benzenesulfonic acid’s formula (C6H5SO3H) written like that?

Question

In chemistry, I’ve always seen formulas of ionic compounds written as “Cation-Anion” why is this one “Anion-Cation”? Another example is sodium benzenesulfonate (C6H5SO3Na)

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Answer 1

You don’t have to write it that way, there are different styles of representing chemical formulas. But it’s a popular convention for organic compounds to start with carbon, then hydrogen, then the remaining elements. An ion like NaCl wouldn’t care about that, since there’s no carbon.

To be honest, proper chemists don’t use that notation very much because it’s hard to read and can be ambiguous. It’s only useful for calculating mass. When you want the structure, you either draw it, or use IUPAC nomenclature, which is much more precise.