Simple question about vinegar - Biology Forum

last updated by

Mjhavok 18 years, 8 months ago

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- February 28, 2006 at 11:18 pm #3814
  CRbomber650
  Participant
  Is vinegar acetic acid or ethanoic acid? My teacher said it was ascetic acid, but I took an online quiz saying that the name for was ethanoic acid. I am inclined to trust my teacher on this one, but the quiz is creating some minor doubts.
- February 28, 2006 at 11:30 pm #42028
  Abstract
  Participant
  Both are correct. 😉
  Technically, ethanoic acid is the proper nomenclature, but the term "acetic acid" is much more commonly used.
- March 1, 2006 at 6:43 pm #42090
  MrMistery
  Participant
  ethanoic acid is the given to the substance by IUPAC(International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry). Acetic acid is it’s common name.
- March 9, 2006 at 1:07 am #42852
  Mjhavok
  Participant
  Ethanoic acid would be more its name as given by chemists and acetic acid is what I think is called the trivial name or commonly used name.
  For instance most enzymes now end is -ase, but when we first started naming enzymes we needed have a system and named them things like pepsin or trypsin.
  In point both are names of the same acid.
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