Organic Functional Groups - Organic Chemistry
Card 1 of 320
What is the IUPAC name for the molecule shown?

What is the IUPAC name for the molecule shown?
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The molecule's longest carbon chain has 6 carbons (thus, "hex-"), and the lack of carbon-carbon double bonds makes it an alkANE (thus "hexan-"). The presence of a hydroxyl group makes this molecule an alcohol (thus "hexanol"). The longest carbon chain is a ring structure (thus "cyclohexanol"), and the location of the alcohol group is assumed to be carbon 1 because it's the highest priority functional group on the molecule. The only other substituent is a methyl group, and numbering the carbon chain starting from the one containing the alcohol group and moving toward the methyl group puts the methyl group on carbon 2. Thus "2-methylcyclohexanol."
The molecule's longest carbon chain has 6 carbons (thus, "hex-"), and the lack of carbon-carbon double bonds makes it an alkANE (thus "hexan-"). The presence of a hydroxyl group makes this molecule an alcohol (thus "hexanol"). The longest carbon chain is a ring structure (thus "cyclohexanol"), and the location of the alcohol group is assumed to be carbon 1 because it's the highest priority functional group on the molecule. The only other substituent is a methyl group, and numbering the carbon chain starting from the one containing the alcohol group and moving toward the methyl group puts the methyl group on carbon 2. Thus "2-methylcyclohexanol."
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What is the IUPAC name for the compound shown?

What is the IUPAC name for the compound shown?
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The molecule's longest carbon chain has 6 carbons (thus, "hex-"), and the presence of three double bonds makes it an alkENE, more specifically, a tri ene (thus "hexatriene"). Because there is more than one way in which the double bonds can be arranged it's important to place locants indicating the lower-numbered carbon in each double bond (1, 3, and 5 in this case).
The molecule's longest carbon chain has 6 carbons (thus, "hex-"), and the presence of three double bonds makes it an alkENE, more specifically, a tri ene (thus "hexatriene"). Because there is more than one way in which the double bonds can be arranged it's important to place locants indicating the lower-numbered carbon in each double bond (1, 3, and 5 in this case).
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Name this compound by IUPAC rules:

Name this compound by IUPAC rules:

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When naming an organic compound by the IUPAC rules, it's best to first start by identifying the functional groups present.
In this particular case we have:
An Ester in the middle as shown here:

a Methyl group shown here:

and a Butyl group attached to the ester:

Next, we should identify what functional group has the highest priority, as that will form the base name of the compound:
According to IUPAC convention, Carboxylic Acid derivatives including Esters have the highest priority then carbonyls then alcohols, amines, alkenes, alkynes, and alkanes, so in this case the Ester group has the highest priority and therefore makes up the name of the base compound.
Next, we want to number the longest carbon chain with the highest priority functional group with the lowest number. In this case this means we want the carbonyl of the ester to be carbon number #1, so let's start there and number the carbon chain.
You should get something like this:

Notice there are two sixes. The reason why is because there are two possible pathways for the carbon numbering to continue, but both are equivalent meaning no matter what we do there is a 5-methyl group and the carbon chain is 6 carbons long.
Now that we have numbered the carbon chain we can begin our naming.
Let's start with the base name:
According to IUPAC convention the base name for an ester compound is -oate, so in this case we have a hexanoate, which can also be written as hexan-1-oate, but this isn't needed as it as the ester is at carbon 1.
We also have a methyl group at the 5-carbon so in this gives us:
5-methylhexanoate.
However, we aren't done as we haven't named the substituent on the other side of the ester. Let's first count the number of carbons it has. Since this chain has 4 carbons it is a butyl group, as according to IUPAC the chain on the side farthest from carbonyl carbon of the ester is named as a substituent and placed in front of the name of the compound.
This makes our final answer Butyl 5-methylhexanoate.
Now let's go over the other answer choices and why they are wrong:
1) Butyl 5-methylhexenoate is almost correct except for the fact it says Butyl 5-methylhexenoate. The "en" indicates there is an alkene (double bond) in the compound, and since there isn't this can't be the right answer.
2) Butyl 2-methylhex-6-anoate is wrong because the ester group isn't assigned the highest priority. In IUPAC nomenclature you want to assign the highest priority functional group the lowest number possible in the carbon chain.
3) Butyl 2-methylhex-6-enoate is wrong for a mix of the reasons in the previous 2 answers. It says Butyl 2-methylhex-6-enoate in it, and the compound doesn't have an alkene. It also makes the mistake of not making the ester group (the highest priority functional group) have the lowest number possible in the carbon chain, so this can't be right either.
4) 1-butoxy-5-methylhexanone is wrong because it interprets the ester as being a ketone and an ether group instead of an ester.
When naming an organic compound by the IUPAC rules, it's best to first start by identifying the functional groups present.
In this particular case we have:
An Ester in the middle as shown here:

a Methyl group shown here:

and a Butyl group attached to the ester:

Next, we should identify what functional group has the highest priority, as that will form the base name of the compound:
According to IUPAC convention, Carboxylic Acid derivatives including Esters have the highest priority then carbonyls then alcohols, amines, alkenes, alkynes, and alkanes, so in this case the Ester group has the highest priority and therefore makes up the name of the base compound.
Next, we want to number the longest carbon chain with the highest priority functional group with the lowest number. In this case this means we want the carbonyl of the ester to be carbon number #1, so let's start there and number the carbon chain.
You should get something like this:

Notice there are two sixes. The reason why is because there are two possible pathways for the carbon numbering to continue, but both are equivalent meaning no matter what we do there is a 5-methyl group and the carbon chain is 6 carbons long.
Now that we have numbered the carbon chain we can begin our naming.
Let's start with the base name:
According to IUPAC convention the base name for an ester compound is -oate, so in this case we have a hexanoate, which can also be written as hexan-1-oate, but this isn't needed as it as the ester is at carbon 1.
We also have a methyl group at the 5-carbon so in this gives us:
5-methylhexanoate.
However, we aren't done as we haven't named the substituent on the other side of the ester. Let's first count the number of carbons it has. Since this chain has 4 carbons it is a butyl group, as according to IUPAC the chain on the side farthest from carbonyl carbon of the ester is named as a substituent and placed in front of the name of the compound.
This makes our final answer Butyl 5-methylhexanoate.
Now let's go over the other answer choices and why they are wrong:
1) Butyl 5-methylhexenoate is almost correct except for the fact it says Butyl 5-methylhexenoate. The "en" indicates there is an alkene (double bond) in the compound, and since there isn't this can't be the right answer.
2) Butyl 2-methylhex-6-anoate is wrong because the ester group isn't assigned the highest priority. In IUPAC nomenclature you want to assign the highest priority functional group the lowest number possible in the carbon chain.
3) Butyl 2-methylhex-6-enoate is wrong for a mix of the reasons in the previous 2 answers. It says Butyl 2-methylhex-6-enoate in it, and the compound doesn't have an alkene. It also makes the mistake of not making the ester group (the highest priority functional group) have the lowest number possible in the carbon chain, so this can't be right either.
4) 1-butoxy-5-methylhexanone is wrong because it interprets the ester as being a ketone and an ether group instead of an ester.
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Name this compound according to IUPAC naming convention:

Name this compound according to IUPAC naming convention:

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When naming an organic compound by the IUPAC, it's best to first start by identifying the functional groups present.
In this particular case we have:
A carboxylic acid shown here:

An alkene in the middle of the carbon chain:

A methyl group:

and a ketone towards the end:

Next, we should identify what functional group has the highest priority, as that will form the base name of the compound:
According to IUPAC convention, Carboxylic Acid derivatives including Esters have the highest priority then carbonyls (in this case the ketone) then alcohols, amines, alkenes, alkynes, and alkanes, so in this case the Ester group has the highest priority and therefore makes up the name of the base compound.
Next, we want to number the longest carbon chain with the highest priority functional group with the lowest number. In this case this means we want the carbonyl of the carboxylic acid to be carbon number #1, so let's start there and number the carbon chain.
You should get something like this:

Now that we have numbered the carbon chain we can begin our naming.
Let's start with the base name:
According to IUPAC convention the base name for an carboxylic acid compound is -oic acid, so in this case we have a decanoic acid, which can also be written as decan-1-oic acid, but this isn't needed as it as the carboxylic acid is at carbon 1.
Next notice that we have an alkene that's part of the main chain, since it is part of the main chain we include it in the base name, so we must change our name from decanoic acid to dec**-4-en**oic acid because the lowest it can be numbered is #4, however since the highest priority groups on the alkene are facing opposite to each other it is an E (Entgegen) alkene, so we can name it (4E)-decenoic acid
We also have a methyl group at carbon 5. This gives us:
(4E)-5-methyldecenoic acid.
Finally we have a ketone as a substituent, and a ketone as a substituent is called an oxo, so it becomes 9-oxo.
Now we must order our substituents alphabetically. Thus it becomes
(4E)-5-methyl-9-oxodecenoic acid which is our final answer.
Now let's go over the wrong answers:
-
(4E)-9-oxo-5-methyldecenoic acid is wrong because the substituents aren't ordered alphabetically.
-
5-methyl-9-oxodecanoic acid is wrong because it says decanoic acid when there is an alkene present.
-
9-oxo-5-methyldecanoic acid is wrong because it says decanoic acid when there is an alkene present, and because the substituents aren't ordered alphabetically.
-
10-carboxy-5-methyldecan-2-one is wrong because the carboxylic acid group isn't highest priority and it omits the alkene in this compound.
When naming an organic compound by the IUPAC, it's best to first start by identifying the functional groups present.
In this particular case we have:
A carboxylic acid shown here:

An alkene in the middle of the carbon chain:

A methyl group:

and a ketone towards the end:

Next, we should identify what functional group has the highest priority, as that will form the base name of the compound:
According to IUPAC convention, Carboxylic Acid derivatives including Esters have the highest priority then carbonyls (in this case the ketone) then alcohols, amines, alkenes, alkynes, and alkanes, so in this case the Ester group has the highest priority and therefore makes up the name of the base compound.
Next, we want to number the longest carbon chain with the highest priority functional group with the lowest number. In this case this means we want the carbonyl of the carboxylic acid to be carbon number #1, so let's start there and number the carbon chain.
You should get something like this:

Now that we have numbered the carbon chain we can begin our naming.
Let's start with the base name:
According to IUPAC convention the base name for an carboxylic acid compound is -oic acid, so in this case we have a decanoic acid, which can also be written as decan-1-oic acid, but this isn't needed as it as the carboxylic acid is at carbon 1.
Next notice that we have an alkene that's part of the main chain, since it is part of the main chain we include it in the base name, so we must change our name from decanoic acid to dec**-4-en**oic acid because the lowest it can be numbered is #4, however since the highest priority groups on the alkene are facing opposite to each other it is an E (Entgegen) alkene, so we can name it (4E)-decenoic acid
We also have a methyl group at carbon 5. This gives us:
(4E)-5-methyldecenoic acid.
Finally we have a ketone as a substituent, and a ketone as a substituent is called an oxo, so it becomes 9-oxo.
Now we must order our substituents alphabetically. Thus it becomes
(4E)-5-methyl-9-oxodecenoic acid which is our final answer.
Now let's go over the wrong answers:
-
(4E)-9-oxo-5-methyldecenoic acid is wrong because the substituents aren't ordered alphabetically.
-
5-methyl-9-oxodecanoic acid is wrong because it says decanoic acid when there is an alkene present.
-
9-oxo-5-methyldecanoic acid is wrong because it says decanoic acid when there is an alkene present, and because the substituents aren't ordered alphabetically.
-
10-carboxy-5-methyldecan-2-one is wrong because the carboxylic acid group isn't highest priority and it omits the alkene in this compound.
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Ephedrine (shown below) contains what type of amine?

Ephedrine (shown below) contains what type of amine?

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A secondary amine is an amine (nitrogen atom) that is attached to two carbon-containing groups (alkyl groups or aryl groups). The nitrogen in ephedrine is attached to two alkyl groups, making it a secondary amine.
Primary amines are generally written as
. Secondary amines are generally written as
. A tertiary amine will be bound to three different R-groups. Quaternary amines require a positive charge on the nitrogen atom to accommodate a fourth R-group.
A secondary amine is an amine (nitrogen atom) that is attached to two carbon-containing groups (alkyl groups or aryl groups). The nitrogen in ephedrine is attached to two alkyl groups, making it a secondary amine.
Primary amines are generally written as . Secondary amines are generally written as
. A tertiary amine will be bound to three different R-groups. Quaternary amines require a positive charge on the nitrogen atom to accommodate a fourth R-group.
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The amino functional group in the given molecule is best described as a .

The amino functional group in the given molecule is best described as a .

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An amino group is a nitrogen-containing functional group, and is the part pictured on the right of the given molecule. This amine has three substituents: the alkyl ketone, the methyl, and the ethyl. Hydrogens do not count as "substituents." Any amine with three substituents is considered a "tertiary" amine.
This amine is chiral because it has four different substitutions at the nitrogen atom, which is the definition of chirality.
Note: "tetriary" is not a real term in organic chemistry.
An amino group is a nitrogen-containing functional group, and is the part pictured on the right of the given molecule. This amine has three substituents: the alkyl ketone, the methyl, and the ethyl. Hydrogens do not count as "substituents." Any amine with three substituents is considered a "tertiary" amine.
This amine is chiral because it has four different substitutions at the nitrogen atom, which is the definition of chirality.
Note: "tetriary" is not a real term in organic chemistry.
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Which of these is a tertiary amine?
Which of these is a tertiary amine?
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A tertiary amine has three organic groups bonded to it. Triethylamine has three ethyl groups bonded to it, so that is the correct answer. Ammonia is
, so it has no organic groups attached. Piperidine is a six-membered ring with a nitrogen as one of the members, making it a secondary amine. Aniline is a benzene ring with a
bonded to it, so it is a primary amine.
A tertiary amine has three organic groups bonded to it. Triethylamine has three ethyl groups bonded to it, so that is the correct answer. Ammonia is , so it has no organic groups attached. Piperidine is a six-membered ring with a nitrogen as one of the members, making it a secondary amine. Aniline is a benzene ring with a
bonded to it, so it is a primary amine.
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Which of the following molecules is an amine?
A)

B)

C)

D)

Which of the following molecules is an amine?
A)

B)

C)

D)

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C is the correct answer.

The molecule pictured above is an anime because it contains a nitrogen group bonded to two hydrogen atoms and one R-group. A shows an aldehyde, B shows an amide, and D shows a carboxylic acid.
C is the correct answer.

The molecule pictured above is an anime because it contains a nitrogen group bonded to two hydrogen atoms and one R-group. A shows an aldehyde, B shows an amide, and D shows a carboxylic acid.
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Which of the following best describes the given molecule?
Which of the following best describes the given molecule?
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A molecule is anti-aromatic when it follows all of the criteria for an aromatic compound, except for the fact that it has
pi electrons rather than
pi electrons, as in this case.
A molecule is anti-aromatic when it follows all of the criteria for an aromatic compound, except for the fact that it has pi electrons rather than
pi electrons, as in this case.
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Which of the following best describes the given molecule?
Which of the following best describes the given molecule?
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A molecule is aromatic when it adheres to 4 main criteria:
1. The molecule must be planar
2. The molecule must be cyclic
3. Every atom in the aromatic ring must have a p orbital
4. The ring must contain
pi electrons
The carbon on the left side of this molecule is an sp3 carbon, and therefore lacks an unhybridized p orbital. The molecule is non-aromatic.
A molecule is aromatic when it adheres to 4 main criteria:
1. The molecule must be planar
2. The molecule must be cyclic
3. Every atom in the aromatic ring must have a p orbital
4. The ring must contain pi electrons
The carbon on the left side of this molecule is an sp3 carbon, and therefore lacks an unhybridized p orbital. The molecule is non-aromatic.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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Ketones are carbonyls with two R-groups attached the the carbonyl carbon.
Ketones are carbonyls with two R-groups attached the the carbonyl carbon.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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This is an acid halide, were X is any halogen (group VII). They are the most reactive of all the carboxylic acid derivatives.
This is an acid halide, were X is any halogen (group VII). They are the most reactive of all the carboxylic acid derivatives.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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Carboxylic acids are composed of one R goup and a hydroxy group bound to the carbonyl carbon. The hydroxyl group gives the molecule acidic properties.
Carboxylic acids are composed of one R goup and a hydroxy group bound to the carbonyl carbon. The hydroxyl group gives the molecule acidic properties.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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This is a hemiketal. Hemiketals are formed from the reaction of a ketone with an alcohol. The alcohol attacks the carbonyl carbon, reducing the double bond and adding a hydroxyl group.
This is a hemiketal. Hemiketals are formed from the reaction of a ketone with an alcohol. The alcohol attacks the carbonyl carbon, reducing the double bond and adding a hydroxyl group.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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Ketals have two -OR groups bound to a central carbon. The R groups attached to the oxygens are not necessarily the same. Ketals result from the reaction of a ketone with two equivalents of alcohol.
Ketals have two -OR groups bound to a central carbon. The R groups attached to the oxygens are not necessarily the same. Ketals result from the reaction of a ketone with two equivalents of alcohol.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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Acid anhydrides are relatively reactive, since they have a fairly good leaving group (the conjugate base of a carboxylic acid) \[COO-\]. They are formed by reacting two carboxylic acids via dehydration synthesis.
Acid anhydrides are relatively reactive, since they have a fairly good leaving group (the conjugate base of a carboxylic acid) \[COO-\]. They are formed by reacting two carboxylic acids via dehydration synthesis.
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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This is an amide. It is very unreactive since its leaving group is the conjugate base of an amine \[HNR-\].
This is an amide. It is very unreactive since its leaving group is the conjugate base of an amine \[HNR-\].
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Identify the given organic functional group.

Identify the given organic functional group.

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Esters are relatively unreactive since the leaving group is an alkoxide ion (OR-), which is the conjugate base of an alcohol (a relatively weak acid).
Esters are relatively unreactive since the leaving group is an alkoxide ion (OR-), which is the conjugate base of an alcohol (a relatively weak acid).
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Which of the following compounds is an aldehyde?
A)

B)

C)
D)

Which of the following compounds is an aldehyde?
A)

B)

C)
D)

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The correct answer is D.

The molecule pictured above is an aldehyde because it contains an oxygen double bonded to the last carbon on the carbon chain. A contains a amide group, B contains a ketone, and C contains a carboxylic acid group.
The correct answer is D.

The molecule pictured above is an aldehyde because it contains an oxygen double bonded to the last carbon on the carbon chain. A contains a amide group, B contains a ketone, and C contains a carboxylic acid group.
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The molecule guanosine, as shown below, is an important nucleoside found in biological systems. When combined with phosphate groups, guanosine acts as a vital constituent of nucleic acids. Based on the structure of this compound, how many amide groups are there in this molecule?

The molecule guanosine, as shown below, is an important nucleoside found in biological systems. When combined with phosphate groups, guanosine acts as a vital constituent of nucleic acids. Based on the structure of this compound, how many amide groups are there in this molecule?

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In this question, we're shown the structure of the nucleoside called guanosine. We're asked to determine how many amide functional groups exist in this molecule.
First, to answer this question, we need to know what an amide functional group is. Amides consist of a carbon atom double bonded to an oxygen atom, and single bonded to a nitrogen atom. Note that this is distinct from the similarly named amine functional group, which contains a nitrogen atom with a lone pair of electrons and single bonded to three other atoms, which can be hydrogen or "R-groups" containing carbon atoms.
When looking at the molecular structure of guanosine, we can see that there is only a single amide group.

In this question, we're shown the structure of the nucleoside called guanosine. We're asked to determine how many amide functional groups exist in this molecule.
First, to answer this question, we need to know what an amide functional group is. Amides consist of a carbon atom double bonded to an oxygen atom, and single bonded to a nitrogen atom. Note that this is distinct from the similarly named amine functional group, which contains a nitrogen atom with a lone pair of electrons and single bonded to three other atoms, which can be hydrogen or "R-groups" containing carbon atoms.
When looking at the molecular structure of guanosine, we can see that there is only a single amide group.

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