Organic derivatives of ammonia (NH*3*), in which one or more alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aromatic groups replace hydrogen and bond to the nitrogen atom.
Classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary (similar to alcohols) → __the__ __**number of carbon groups**__ that are bound to the nitrogen atom.
The **-NH*****2*** group of a primary amine can be thought of as an **“amino group”** (a BRANCH).
* State: tend to be **gases** for low molecular weight cases, many **heavier ones** are **liquids** are room temperature
* Tend to exhibit **strong odors**, some have a “fishy” smell!
* __Boiling points__ are intermediate to those for alcohols and alkanes of similar molar mass; because of the presence of **N-H** bonds in primary + secondary, *H-bonding is sometimes possible;* however, because __***N is not as electronegative as O, the N-H bond is not as polar as an O-H bond***__ (hence __***weaker H-bonding***__)
* Tend to be **water-soluble** because of H-bonding interactions with water molecules; in fact, those with fewer than six carbon atoms are infinitely water-soluble
* Water-solubility decreases as chain length increases and as the **degree of N-substitution increases**