The formula CH3OH represents methanol as which type of formula?

• A. Molecular formula
• B. Displayed formula
• C. Structural formula
• D. Empirical formula

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that a molecular formula shows the exact number of each type of atom in one molecule. CH3OH tells you there is 1 carbon, 4 hydrogens, and 1 oxygen in methanol, which is the precise composition of the molecule. It doesn’t depict how the atoms are bonded or arranged—that’s what a structural or displayed formula would do. An empirical formula would be the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms, which for methanol is CH4O, a form that conveys only the ratio, not the full structure. So CH3OH is read as the molecular formula because it communicates the actual composition of a methanol molecule.