Question

The number of oxygen atoms in an acetamide molecule is
A.$1$
B.$2$
C.$3$
D.$4$

Answer 1

Hint: Acetamide is an organic compound that is a colorless hygroscopic solid. Acetamide is the simplest amide of acetic acid also named Acetimidic acid or ethionamide. Therefore to find how many oxygen atoms are present in it, we will have to know about the chemical formula and the structure of acetamide.

Complete answer:Acetamide has mainly originated from acetic acid and the chemical formula of acetamide is ${{C}_{2}}{{H}_{5}}NO$. The structure of acetamide consists of a methyl group ($-C{{H}_{3}}$) that is attached to amine ($-N{{H}_{2}}$) and a carbonyl group ($C=O$). The structure of acetamide is given below:


Therefore from the structure of acetamide, we can see that there is only one oxygen and one nitrogen atom present in it.

Thus, option (A) is correct.

Additional information:
This organic compound belongs to the family of primary carboxylic acid amides that are formed from the formal condensation of ammonia ($-N{{H}_{3}}$) and acetic acid ($C{{H}_{3}}COOH$). At first ammonia solution reacts with glacial acetic acid producing ammonium acetate ($C{{H}_{3}}COON{{H}_{4}}$) which on heating gives ethionamide or acetamide ($C{{H}_{3}}CON{{H}_{2}}$).

Acetamide can also be prepared from partial hydrolysis of acetonitrile ($C{{H}_{3}}CN$) and dry concentrated hydrogen chloride ($HCl$) but on complete hydrolysis carboxylic acid is produced.

Note: As acetamide is formed from a carboxylic acid called acetic acid that’s why it is slightly acidic. It can be used as a solvent for many organic and inorganic chemical reactions. Also, acetamide is used in explosives, stabilizers, plasticizers, and soldering fluxes.