Skeletal formula

A shorthand structural representation of an organic molecule in which carbon atoms at line ends and vertices, and most attached hydrogens, are omitted while bonds are shown as lines.

Structural formula: A representation showing how atoms in a molecule are connected. Skeletal formulas are a compact form of structural formula.
Bond-line notation: A drawing system that represents molecular bonds as lines and uses conventions to indicate atoms. Skeletal formulas are bond-line notation adapted to organic molecules.
Organic chemistry: The study of the structures, properties, reactions, and synthesis of carbon-containing compounds. Skeletal formulas are a standard working language for representing its molecules.
Lewis structure: A diagram showing valence electrons as bonds and lone pairs around atoms. Lewis structures emphasize electrons and lone pairs that ordinary skeletal formulas usually omit.
Chemical bond: An attraction that holds atoms together in a molecule or compound. Lines in skeletal formulas encode bonds between atoms.
Wedge-and-dash notation: A convention using solid wedges and dashed bonds to show three-dimensional orientation in chemical structures. Skeletal drawings add wedges and dashes when a molecule’s stereochemistry must be shown.
Organic reaction mechanism: A stepwise account of how bonds break and form during an organic chemical reaction. Line drawings make changes in connectivity easy to track across reaction steps.
Displayed formula: A structural representation that draws every atom and every bond explicitly. It makes explicit the carbon atoms and C–H bonds omitted in skeletal notation.
Valence (chemistry): An atom’s combining capacity, commonly expressed through the number of bonds it forms. Valence helps determine how many hydrogens omitted from a skeletal formula are implied.
Condensed structural formula: A structural representation that groups atoms into written units such as CH₃ and CH₂. It writes carbon and hydrogen groups explicitly where skeletal notation typically omits them.

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