core organic chemistry

Question 1

what is a functional group?

Answer 1

part of the organic molecule that is largely responsible for the molecule’s chemical properties

Question 2

what is a hydrocarbon?

Answer 2

a compound containing carbon and hydrogen only

Question 3

what is a homologous series? (2)

Answer 3

1) a family of compounds with similar chemical properties
2) whose successive members differ by the addition of a CH2 group

Question 4

why does carbon form a large number of compounds? (3)

Answer 4

1) each carbon atom can form four covalent bonds
2) carbon atoms can bond to other carbon atoms to form long chains
3) bonds can be single, double or triple

Question 5

what is a saturated hydrocarbon?

Answer 5

has single bonds only

Question 6

what is an unsaturated hydrocarbon?

Answer 6

contains carbon-carbon multiple bonds

Question 7

why is IUPAC important?

Answer 7

chemists across the globe can communicate early

Question 8

what 3 groups can hydrocarbons the classified as? (3)

Answer 8

1) aliphatic- carbon atoms are joined to each other in unbranched (straight) or branched chains
2) alicyclic- carbon atoms are joined to each other in ring/ cyclic structures
3) aromantic- some or all of the carbon atoms are found in a benzene ring

Question 9

what are the three homologous series of aliphatic hydrocarbons? (3)

Answer 9

1) alkanes- containing single carbon to carbon bonds
2) alkenes- containing at least one double carbon to carbon bond
3) alkynes - containing at least one triple carbon to carbon bond

Question 10

what does the stem of the name of a compound indicate?

Answer 10

the number of carbon atoms in the longest continuous chain in the molecule

Question 11

what does the prefix of the name of a compound indicate?

Answer 11

indicates the presence of side chains or functional groups

Question 12

what does the suffix of the name of a compound indicate?

Answer 12

indicate functional groups

Question 13

what steps should you follow when naming alkanes? (4)

Answer 13

1) all alkanes have the suffix -ane
2) identify the longest continuous chain of carbon atoms/ parent chain and name it
3) identify any alkyl groups attached to the parent chain. name alkyl group and add as a prefix to the parent chain
4) add numbers before any alkyl groups to show the position of the alkyl groups on the parent chain

Question 14

what is systematic nomenclature?

Answer 14

can be used to name organic compounds and therefore make it easier to refer to them

Question 15

why are the alkanes important for nomenclature?

Answer 15

1) The alkanes provide the basis of the naming system
2) the stem of each name indicates how many carbon atoms are in the longest chain in one molecule of the compound

Question 16

what are the stems used in naming for alkanes from 1 to 10?

Answer 16

1) meth-
2) eth-
3) prop-
4) but-
5) pent-
6) hex-
7) hept-
8) oct-
9) non-
10) dec-

Question 17

how do you name side chains in alkanes? (3)

Answer 17

1) If there are more than one of the same alkyl side-chain or functional groups, di- (for two), tri- (for three) or tetra- (for four) is added in front of its name
2) The adjacent numbers have a comma between them
3) Numbers are separated from words by a hyphen

Question 18

how do you name multiple side chains in alkanes?

Answer 18

1) If there is more than one type of alkyl side-chain, they are listed in alphabetic order