The general formula for saturated monocarboxylic acids can be represented as:
\[ \text{RCOOH} \]
where \( \text{R} \) is an alkyl group.
For saturated monocarboxylic acids, the formula can also be expressed in terms of the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. If \( n \) is the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain (which includes the carbon of the carboxyl group), the general formula can be written as:
\[ \text{C}n\text{H}{2n}\text{O}_2 \]
This reflects that saturated fatty acids (which are a type of saturated monocarboxylic acid) have the general structure characterized by a straight-chain hydrocarbon tail ending in a carboxylic acid group (-COOH). The longer the alkyl chain, the more carbon atoms (n) present in the molecule.