Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the actual chemical compound that we call Vitamin C in everyday language.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Each vitamin has a plain letter name used in daily speech and a proper chemical name used in biochemistry. To answer this, we need to recall the chemical name paired specifically with Vitamin C.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Vitamin C is chemically known as ascorbic acid. It is a water soluble compound that the body uses to build collagen, the protein that holds skin, gums, and blood vessel walls together. It also supports the immune system and helps the body absorb iron from food.
Now look at the wrong options. Citric acid is the sour tasting acid found in lemons and oranges, but it is a different molecule from ascorbic acid, even though both occur together in citrus fruits. Oxalic acid is an organic acid found in foods like spinach and rhubarb, and it can bind calcium to form crystals, again unrelated to Vitamin C. Nitric acid is a strong inorganic acid used in industry and has nothing to do with vitamins or human nutrition.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The compound that carries the name Vitamin C is ascorbic acid.
\[ \boxed{\text{Ascorbic acid}} \]