Organic Molecule Nomenclature PDF

Nomenclature The name of every organic molecule has 3 parts: 1. The parent name indicates the number of carbons in the longest continuous chain. 2. The suffix indicates what functional group is present. 3. The prefix tells us the identity, location, and number of substituents attached to the c...

Nomenclature The name of every organic molecule has 3 parts: 1. The parent name indicates the number of carbons in the longest continuous chain. 2. The suffix indicates what functional group is present. 3. The prefix tells us the identity, location, and number of substituents attached to the carbon chain. 12  Carbon substituents bonded to a long carbon chain are called alkyl groups. An alkyl group is formed by removing one H atom from an alkane. To name an alkyl group, change the –ane ending of the parent alkane to –yl. Thus, methane (CH4) becomes methyl (CH3-) and ethane (CH3CH3) becomes ethyl (CH3CH2-). 13 Naming three- or four-carbon alkyl groups is more complicated because the parent hydrocarbons have more than one type of hydrogen atom. For example, propane has both 1° and 2° H atoms, and removal of each of these H atoms forms a different alkyl group with a different name, propyl or isopropyl. 14 1. Find the parent carbon chain and add the suffix. Note that it does not matter if the chain is straight or it bends. 15 Also note that if there are two chains of equal length, pick the chain with more substituents. In the following example, two different chains in the same alkane have seven C atoms. We circle the longest continuous chain as shown in the diagram on the left, since this results in the greater number of substituents. 16 2. Number the atoms in the carbon chain to give the first substituent the lowest number. 17 If the first substituent is the same distance from both ends, number the chain to give the second substituent the lower number. 18 When numbering a carbon chain results in the same numbers from either end of the chain, assign the lower number alphabetically to the first substituent. 19 3. Name and number the substituents. Name the substituents as alkyl groups. Every carbon belongs to either the longest chain or a substituent, not both. Each substituent needs its own number. If two or more identical substituents are bonded to the longest chain, use prefixes to indicate how many: di- for two groups, tri- for three groups, tetra- for four groups, and so forth. 20 4. Combine substituent names and numbers + parent and suffix. Precede the name of the parent by the names of the substituents. Alphabetize the names of the substituents, ignoring all prefixes except iso, as in isopropyl and isobutyl. Precede the name of each substituent by the number that indicates its location. Separate numbers by commas and separate numbers from letters by hyphens. The name of an alkane is a single word, with no spaces after hyphens and commas. 21 Cycloalkanes are named by using similar rules, but the prefix cyclo- immediately precedes the name of the parent. 1. Find the parent cycloalkane. 22 2. Name and number the substituents. No number is needed to indicate the location of a single substituent. For rings with more than one substituent, begin numbering at one substituent and proceed around the ring to give the second substituent the lowest number. 23 With two different substituents, number the ring to assign the lower number to the substituents alphabetically. Note the special case of an alkane composed of both a ring and a long chain. If the number of carbons in the ring is greater than or equal to the number of carbons in the longest chain, the compound is named as a cycloalkane. 24  Figure 4.2 Two contrasting examples— Naming compounds containing both a ring and a long chain of carbon atoms 25  Figure 4.3 Examples of cycloalkane nomenclature 26