[wooja978]

Hi is there a way to figure out the number of double bonds in a unsaturated fatty acid from just the chemical formula?

say arachidonic acid, C19H31COOH, i know there's 4 double bonds but is there a way to figure out from just the formula?

thanks for your time

[sjb]

Hi is there a way to figure out the number of double bonds in a unsaturated fatty acid from just the chemical formula?

say arachidonic acid, C₁₉H₃₁COOH, i know there's 4 double bonds but is there a way to figure out from just the formula?

thanks for your time

Try something like the degree of unsaturation (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Degree_of_unsaturation&oldid=492814419 ),