To calculate the formal charge of the carbon atom in CH3COOH acetic acid , we need to consider the Lewis structure of the molecule. The molecule can be written as CH3-COOH, where the carbon atom we are interested in is the one bonded to the hydroxyl group OH .The Lewis structure of CH3COOH is: O ||H - C - C - O - H | HNow, let's calculate the formal charge of the carbon atom bonded to the hydroxyl group OH :Formal charge = Valence electrons of carbon - Non-bonding electrons - 1/2 x Bonding electrons Carbon has 4 valence electrons. In the given structure, the carbon atom has no non-bonding electrons lone pairs . It is bonded to one hydrogen atom, one oxygen atom double bond , and one carbon atom single bond , so it has a total of 4 bonding electrons.Formal charge = 4 - 0 - 1/2 x 4 Formal charge = 4 - 2Formal charge = 2Therefore, the formal charge of the carbon atom in the compound CH3COOH is 0.