[Cassies]

Hi, I am studying for Chem and we are studying organic chemistry and I am supposed to put the following compounds in order of increasing stability: H2CO4, CH4, H2CO, CO2, CO3^-
Here is the order I get when I do it, and I want to know if its correct:
CO3^-, H2CO4, CO2, H2CO, CH4

[cliverlong]

I'm not clear what you mean by "stability"

If you were looking at say oxides or chlorides or carbonates of group 2 metals then "stability" would probably mean whether the molecules or ionic lattices would hold together under different levels of temperature and pressure. For example: group 2 carbonates are more thermally stable as one progresses "down" the group

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/alevel/chemistry/group-ii-and-group-iv/group-ii.html

Is that the question you are being asked for the "compounds" given?

A detail: CO₃^-, is not a compound, it is an ion. I'm not sure that "thermal stability of carbonate ion" actually has any meaning because it can't be isolated.

So if the question is about thermal stability, how did you arrive at the order you suggested in your first post? I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just not clear what the question you have been asked means.

A suggestion: experiment with the "sup" and "sub" buttons on the forum editor it makes formulae easier to read: e.g. H2CO4 becomes H₂CO₄

A question for you. Do you think H₂CO₄ is percarbonic acid and H₂CO is hypocarbonous acid? See http://wci.wrdsb.on.ca/www/Science/PreAP%20Enrichment/10-1%20Nomenclature%204.pdf . I have never come across such oxyacids of carbon - but that's just my lack of a broad chemical knowledge.

Another thing I'm not sure about is I feel these compounds, although formed from hydrogen, carbon and oxygen are not really organic compounds. My definition of organic compounds is that they are molecules with a variety of "functional groups" on a "backbone" of carbon atoms in chains or rings - although that's a bit of a wooly definition and maybe completely wrong, I guess !

Clive

[sjb]

A suggestion: experiment with the "sup" and "sub" buttons on the forum editor it makes formulae easier to read: e.g. H2CO4 becomes H₂CO₄

A question for you. Do you think H₂CO₄ is percarbonic acid and H₂CO is hypocarbonous acid? See http://wci.wrdsb.on.ca/www/Science/PreAP%20Enrichment/10-1%20Nomenclature%204.pdf . I have never come across such oxyacids of carbon - but that's just my lack of a broad chemical knowledge.

Interesting point. I suppose H₂CO is more likely to be methanal / formaldehyde, but by no means certain, and for H₂CO₄ I don't really know what is "common" at undergraduate level, perhaps percarbonic acid as you suggest, some exotic tetraoxacyclopentane, dihydroxydioxirane (?)

[zxt]

Interesting point. I suppose H₂CO is more likely to be methanal / formaldehyde, but by no means certain, and for H₂CO₄ I don't really know what is "common" at undergraduate level, perhaps percarbonic acid as you suggest, some exotic tetraoxacyclopentane, dihydroxydioxirane (?)
[/quote]

Another possibility is peroxyformdiic acid/peroxymethandioic acid.But it does not seem to exist.

[sjb]

Another possibility is peroxyformdiic acid/peroxymethandioic acid.But it does not seem to exist.

Yeah, there are several formulae on paper that you can draw out with the formula, but chemistry en papier is a very underrated field for producing actives