Organic Chemistry: Naming Basic Hydrocarbons, Isomers, Alkenes, and Alkynes

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing IUPAC naming rules, structural and stereoisomerism, hydrocarbon classifications, and locant priorities for alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, and cyclic hydrocarbons.

IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; the organization responsible for creating standardized, unambiguous, uniform, and consistent chemical nomenclature and terminology.

Hydrocarbon

An organic compound made up entirely of carbon and hydrogen atoms connected by $C-H$ and $C-C$ bonds.

Aliphatic Compounds

Organic chemical compounds that do not contain benzene rings; they can be linear or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, and generally react more freely than aromatic compounds.

Aromatic Compounds

Cyclic, unsaturated organic compounds that contain an aromatic or benzene ring, featuring conjugated alternating double bonds and requiring special conditions to react.

Alkane

A saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon containing only single carbon-carbon bonds ($C-C$), ending with the IUPAC suffix '-ane'.

Alkene

An unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon double bond ($C=C$), ending with the IUPAC suffix '-ene'.

Alkyne

An unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond ($C \equiv C$), ending with the IUPAC suffix '-yne'.

Substituent (Branch)

A carbon group or side chain branching off from the main parent backbone of a hydrocarbon molecule.

Structural Isomerism

A form of isomerism where compounds share the same molecular formula (e.g., $C_5H_{12}$) but have different structural formulae and atom connectivity.

Stereoisomerism

A form of isomerism where molecules have the same molecular formula and structural connectivity, but their constituent atoms occupy different positions in three-dimensional space.

Geometrical Isomerism

A type of stereoisomerism resulting from restricted rotation around carbon-carbon double bonds ($C=C$), producing cis and trans (or E and Z) arrangements.

Optical Isomerism

A type of stereoisomerism occurring when molecules contain a chiral center, generating two non-superimposable mirror image forms.

Cis Isomer

A stereoisomer in which the main carbon chain or key substituents continue on the same side of a carbon-carbon double bond ($C=C$).

Trans Isomer

A stereoisomer in which the main carbon chain or key substituents continue on opposite (alternate) sides of a carbon-carbon double bond ($C=C$).

Cycloalkane

A saturated hydrocarbon whose carbon chain connects end-to-end to form a closed ring, designated in IUPAC naming by the prefix 'cyclo-'.

Prefixes for 1 to 5 Carbon Chains

The IUPAC prefixes used for parent chains or branches containing 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 carbon atoms: meth-, eth-, prop-, but-, and pent-.

Prefixes for 6 to 10 Carbon Chains

The IUPAC prefixes used for parent chains or branches containing 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 carbon atoms: hex-, hept-, oct-, non-, and dec-.

Multiplier Prefixes (Di-, Tri-, Tetra-, Penta-)

IUPAC prefixes used to specify the presence of 2, 3, 4, or 5 identical branches or multiple double/triple bonds in a molecule; these prefixes are ignored when alphabetizing substituents.

Locant Priority Rule for Double Bonds

The nomenclature rule requiring that the longest chain containing the carbon-carbon double bond ($C=C$) be selected as the parent chain and numbered to give the double bond the lowest possible locator number, taking precedence over branch locants.