Milk is a complex mixture of various compounds, so it doesn’t have a single chemical formula. However, the primary components of milk include water, fats, proteins, lactose (a type of sugar), and minerals. The approximate chemical composition of cow’s milk is as follows:
- Water: 87%
- Lactose: 4.8%
- Fats: 3.7%
- Proteins: 3.3%
- Minerals: 0.7%
Each of these components has its own chemical formula. For example, lactose is C12H22O11, and the main protein in milk, casein, has a complex structure with no single formula. Therefore, while we can’t represent milk with a single chemical formula, we can describe its composition in terms of its major components.