Due to the complexity of carbon compounds possible, a system has been developed that helps to organise and name the compounds.
The system used is called IUPAC which stands for the:
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
FAMILIES
Carbon compounds are divided into various CLASSES (or FAMILIES).
Each FAMILY has unique properties.
The FAMILIES you need to study include:
All families have Carbon arranged in a CHAIN.
Each family has something else unique about it.
These unique features are called FUNCTIONAL GROUPS.
COUNTING CARBONS
Obviously, the easist way to tell how long a CARBON CHAIN is, is to count the number of CARBON ATOMS present in the chain.
So the IUPAC SYSTEM invented a new set of words that sound so confusing at first, but it really is just ordinary counting!
They don't say ONE!
They don't say TWO!
They say METH!
They say ETH!
Here is a list of how to count to 10 in the ORGANIC WAY!
Organic molecules have other atoms present.
Except for hydrogen, these atoms have their own organic names:
You really must learn the above words.
Then instead of saying that the "number of carbons is THREE", you can say "the number of carbons is PROP!"