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Ch.23 - Organic and Biological Chemistry
Chapter 23, Problem 95

One of the constituents of the carnauba wax used in floor and furniture polish is an ester of a C32 straight-chain alcohol with a C20 straight-chain carboxylic acid. Draw the structure of this ester.

Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Understand the structure of an ester. An ester is formed from the reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid, where the hydroxyl group (OH) of the acid is replaced by an alkoxy group (O-R) from the alcohol.
Step 2: Identify the components involved. In this problem, the ester is formed from a C32 straight-chain alcohol and a C20 straight-chain carboxylic acid.
Step 3: Draw the structure of the C32 straight-chain alcohol. This will be a linear chain of 32 carbon atoms with a hydroxyl group (OH) at one end.
Step 4: Draw the structure of the C20 straight-chain carboxylic acid. This will be a linear chain of 20 carbon atoms with a carboxyl group (COOH) at one end.
Step 5: Combine the structures to form the ester. Remove the hydroxyl group from the carboxylic acid and the hydrogen from the alcohol's hydroxyl group, then connect the oxygen of the alcohol to the carbonyl carbon of the acid to form the ester linkage (R-COO-R').