What do the black balls in the model represent?

Question

A molecule of ethanol has two carbon atoms, six hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom. A ball-and-stick model of a molecule of ethanol is made from the following components:

one red ball
two black balls
six white balls
eight sticks

(1 point)
Responses

hydrogen atoms
hydrogen atoms

oxygen atoms
oxygen atoms

carbon atoms
carbon atoms

bonds between atoms

Answer 1

In a ball-and-stick model of a molecule, different colored balls are used to represent different types of atoms. In the case of the model you described for a molecule of ethanol (C2H5OH), the components are as follows:

• Red ball: Typically represents oxygen atoms.
• Black balls: Typically represent carbon atoms.
• White balls: Typically represent hydrogen atoms.
• Sticks: Represent the bonds between the atoms.

Given that there are two black balls in the model, they represent the carbon atoms in the ethanol molecule.

So the answer is: carbon atoms.