The Structure of Mescaline

C₁₁H₁₇NO₃

Percent Composition by Mass:

Carbon = 62.6 %

Hydrogen = 8.1 %

N = 6.6 %

O = 22.7 %

Percentage Composition by Number:

C = 34.4 %

H = 53.1 %

N = 3.1 %

O = 9.4 %

Type of Bonding:

    The type of bonding that is present in mescaline is covalent bonding.  All of the components of mescaline (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen) are non-metal gases and therefore are bonded by covalent bonds.  Covalent bonding is the chemical bonds when atoms share electrons in order to become stable, rather than transferring electrons as is done in ionic bonding.  Covalent compounds, such as mescaline, are less active and are more stable than ionic compounds.  This is so because in ionic bonds there is an attraction between atoms of opposite charges, therefore causing the atoms to transfer electrons, while in covalent bonding, the electrons are just shared.  This type of bonding present in mescaline means that mescaline is less likely to react with other substances--it is merely less reactive than a salt, or ionic compound, would be. 

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