Explain how caryophyllene fits the isoprene rule.

Question

I don't know how to explain this. I do know the isoprene rule is (C5H8)n, where n is the number of isoprene units. Please help.

Answer 1

Caryophyllene has the formula C15H24.
The isoprene rule is (C5H8)_n.
So (C5H8)₃ is C15H24; therefore, caryophyllene fits the isoprene rule.

Answer 2

Here is the site I used to determine the empirical formula for the compound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryophyllene

Answer 3

Thank you very much.