Convert the model below to a skeletal drawing

Convert the model below to a skeletal drawing. Convert the model below to a skeletal drawing.

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

Here is the correct skeletal drawing based on the ball-and-stick model provided:

mathematicaCopyEdit        N
       / \
  CH3-N   \
     |     C
     |    //
     C==C
    /    \
   C      C
   \\    //
     C==C

Or more conventionally, the skeletal structure is that of caffeine, a substituted xanthine molecule.

Explanation

The image provided is a ball-and-stick molecular model. In this type of representation, atoms are depicted as spheres of different colors, and bonds are shown as sticks connecting them. To convert this into a skeletal drawing, we need to identify the atoms and their connectivity.

In the color scheme:

• Gray spheres represent carbon (C)
• White spheres represent hydrogen (H)
• Red-orange spheres represent oxygen (O)
• Blue sphere represents nitrogen (N)

Hydrogen atoms are typically omitted in skeletal structures unless attached to heteroatoms like nitrogen or oxygen. Carbon atoms are represented as the ends or junctions of lines. Double bonds are shown as double lines.

From the image:

• There is a fused ring system with alternating double bonds, indicating aromaticity or conjugation.
• A six-membered ring is fused to a five-membered ring containing two nitrogen atoms.
• There are methyl groups (CH3) attached to nitrogen atoms.
• One carbonyl group (C=O) is attached to each ring, forming a xanthine core structure.
• The blue sphere represents a nitrogen atom in the five-membered ring.
• Methyl groups are represented by short lines branching off the ring junctions.

In skeletal drawings:

• Each line represents a bond between carbon atoms.
• Hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon are implied and not shown.
• Only heteroatoms (N, O) and their hydrogen atoms are shown explicitly.

By identifying the ring system and functional groups, we determine the compound is caffeine, a stimulant found in coffee and tea. The skeletal drawing shows its tricyclic structure with three methyl groups and two ketone groups.