Organic Nomenclature Practice Test 2025 – Complete Exam Prep

The correct structural formula for butanol is represented by CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2OH. Butanol is a four-carbon straight-chain alcohol, and its structural formula indicates the presence of a hydroxyl group (–OH) that defines it as an alcohol.

In this formula, there are four carbon atoms connected in a continuous chain. The first three carbon atoms (CH3-CH2-CH2) represent the three initial carbons, while the fourth carbon (which is connected to the –OH group) completes the butanol structure. This positioning of the hydroxyl group at the end of the carbon chain is characteristic of primary alcohols like butanol.

Understanding the molecular structure helps to recognize that the presence of four carbon atoms and the hydroxyl functional group defines butanol, distinguishing it from the other compounds represented in the choices.