The lactic acid molecule, CH3CH(OH)COOH, gives sour milk its unpleasant, sour taste.
(a) Draw the Lewis structure for the molecule, assuming that carbon always forms four bonds in its stable compounds.
(b) How many π and how many σ bonds are in the molecule?
(c) Which CO bond is shortest in the molecule?
(d) What is the hybridization of atomic orbitals around the carbon atom associated with that short bond?
(e) What are the approximate bond angles around each carbon atom in the molecule?