How would you name complex organic compounds?

How many carbons are in the longest carbon chain?

Prefixes: meth- (1), eth- (2), prop- (3), but- (4), pent- (5), hex- (6)

What functional groups are present?

[GCSE] Suffixes: -ene (C=C/alkene), -yne (C=-C/alkyne), -ol (R-OH/alcohol)

[AS] Suffixes: -anal (R-CHO/aldehyde), -oic acid (R-COOH/carboxylic acid), -one (R-C=O/ketone), -oyl chloride (R-COCl/acyl chloride)

[A2] Suffixes: -oate (R-COOR/ester), -amine (R-NH2/amine), -amide (R-CONH2/amide), -nitrile (R-C=-N/nitrile)

Steps:

Identify longest carbon chain and functional groups on this chain (A)

Identify carbon number on which sidechains are attached (B)

Name the sidechains (C)

Naming format: (B) (C) (A) separating two numbers with a comma & numbers and words with a dash; di- for 2 and tri- for 3 of the same sidechains

Example:

A: prefix is but- and suffix is -oic acid hence butanoic acid

B: carbons 1 and 3

C: methyl groups on carbon 1 and 3

Naming format: (B) (C) (A) hence 1,3-dimethyl butanoic acid

SJ
Answered by Sneha J. Chemistry tutor

5549 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

The Aldehyde CH3CH2CHO (A) reacts with HCN to give a racemic mixture, name the compound CH3CH2CH(CN)OH (B) formed and explain why we get a racemic mixture and how we could differentiate between two different enantiomerically pure solutions of B


4.00 g metal carbonate, MCO3 reacts with acid to liberate a gas that occupies 0.5878 dm3 at 25˚C and 2.0 x 105 Pa. Identify the group 2 metal, M. Info: R = 8.314 J K-1 mol-1


How would you find out whether a reaction is feasible?


Rank the following compounds in acending order of melting point (and explain your reasoning): CH3CH2CH2NH2, CH3CH2CH3, CH3CH2CH2OH


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning