17.4 Families of organic compounds Flashcards
What does the name of the organic compound tell you?
The name of the organic compound tells you which family it belongs to and how many carbon atoms are in it.
If the name ends in -ane
the compound belongs to the family of the alkanes
If the name ends in -ene
the compound belongs to the family of the alkenes
If the name ends in -ol
the compound belongs to the family of the alcohols.
If the name ends in -oic acid
the compound belongs to the family of the carboxylic acids.
methane
1
ethane
2
propane
3
butane
4
pentane
5
hexane
6
heptane
7
octane
8
nonane
9
decane
10
The alkanes
The alkanes contain only carbon and hydrogen, so they are hydrocarbons.
The bonds between their carbon atoms are all single bonds.
The alkenes
The alkenes are hydrocarbons.
All alkenes contain carbon – carbon double bonds.
The C=C bond is called their functional group.
The alcohols
The alcohols are not hydrocarbons.
They are like the alkanes, but with an OH group.
The OH group is their functional group.
The carboxylic acids
The carboxylic acids are not hydrocarbons.
All carboxylic acids contain the COOH group.
The COOH group is their functional group.
Functional groups
A functional group is the part of a molecule that largely dictates how the molecule will react.
Homologous series
A homologous series is a group of organic compounds that have similar chemical properties, due to them having
In a homologous series, as the chain gets longer,
melting and boiling points rise
viscosity increases
flammability decreases
