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CIE IGCSE Chemistry Your notes
Formulae, Functional Groups & Terminology
Contents
Organic Formulae
Homologous Series
Saturated & Unsaturated Compounds
Naming Organic Compounds
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Organic Formulae
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Displayed formulae
Organic Chemistry is the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic
compounds.
Organic compounds are those which contain carbon
For conventional reasons metal carbonates, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are not included in
organic compounds
Many of the structures you will be drawing are hydrocarbons
A hydrocarbon is a compound that contains only hydrogen and carbon atoms
Organic compounds can be represented in a number of ways:
Displayed Formulae
General Formulae
Structural Formulae
The displayed formula shows the spatial arrangement of all the atoms and bonds in a molecule
For example:
This displayed formula tells us several things about the compound
It has 5 carbon atoms
It has 12 hydrogen atoms
It has only single bonds
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Structural formulae
Extended tier only Your notes
In structural formulae, enough information is shown to make the structure clear, but most of the actual
covalent bonds are omitted
Only important bonds are always shown, such as double and triple bonds
Identical groups can be bracketed together
Side groups are also shown using brackets
Straight chain alkanes are shown as follows:
Structural isomers
Structural isomers are compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structural
formulae
The molecular formula is the actual number of atoms of each element in a compound
Compounds with the same molecular formula can have different structural formulae due to the
different arrangement of their atoms in space
Two examples of structural isomers are shown below
Table showing structural isomerism in C4H10
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Your notes
Table showing structural isomerism in C4H8
Exam Tip
Remember: Only double and triple bonds are shown in structural formulae.
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Homologous Series
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Homologous series
A homologous series is a family of organic compounds that have similar features and chemical
properties due to them having the same functional group
The functional group is a group of atoms which are bonded in a specific arrangement that is
responsible for the characteristic reactions of each member of a homologous series
Table of compounds & their functional groups
Family Functional Group Name ends in...
Alkane C-C -ane
Alkene C=C -ene
Alcohol -OH -ol
Carboxylic acid -COOH -anoic acid
Ester -COO- -yl-anoate
Exam Tip
Make sure you can identify the functional group for each homologous series.
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General formulae
The general formula tells you the composition of any member of a whole homologous series of organic Your notes
compound
For example:
All of the alkanes have the general formula CnH2n+2, where n represents the number of carbon
atoms
This tells you that however many carbon atoms there are in the alkane, doubling this number and
adding two will give you the number of hydrogen atoms present in the alkane
General formulae can be used to work out the formula of a compound from different homologous
series if the number of carbon atoms present is known
General formula of common homologous series
Homologous Series General Formula
Alkane CnH2n+2
Alkene CnH2n
Alcohol CnH2n+1OH
Carboxylic acid CnH2n+1COOH
Worked example
Questions
1. What is the formula of an alcohol that contains 5 carbon atoms?
2. What is the formula of an alkene that contains 10 carbon atoms?
Answers:
1. The formula of an alcohol containing 5 carbon atoms is:
Number of carbons = 5
Number of hydrogen atoms (excluding in the functional group) = 2 x 5 + 1 = 11
Formula = C5H11OH
2. The formula of an alkene that contains 10 carbon atoms is:
Number of carbons = 10
Number of hydrogen atoms = 2 x 10 = 20
Formula = C10H20
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General characteristic of homologous series
Extended tier only Your notes
All members of a homologous series have:
The same general formula
Same functional group
Similar chemical properties
Gradation in their physical properties, such as melting and boiling point
The difference in the molecular formula between one member and the next is CH2
These characteristics are shown below for ethanol and propanol, which belong to homologous series,
alcohols
Table of characteristics of ethanol and propanol
Ethanol Propanol
Molecular formula CH3CH2OH CH3CH2CH2OH
General formula CnH2n+1OH CnH2n+1OH
Functional group -OH -OH
Boiling point (oC) 78 97
Exam Tip
Make sure you learn the general formula for each homologous series.
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Saturated & Unsaturated Compounds
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Saturated & unsaturated Compounds
Saturated compounds have molecules in which all carbon-carbon bonds are single bonds
Examples of compounds that are saturated are alkanes
Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2
Alkanes contain only carbon-carbon single bonds so are saturated
Unsaturated compounds consist of molecules in which one or more carbon-carbon bonds are not
single bonds
They contain carbon-carbon double bonds (C=C)
Examples of compounds that are unsaturated are alkenes.
Alkenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons with the general formula is CnH2n
The presence of the double bond, C=C, means they can make more bonds with other atoms by
opening up the C=C bond and allowing incoming atoms to form another single bond with each carbon
atom of the functional group
Each of these carbon atoms now forms 4 single bonds instead of 1 double and 2 single bonds
Alkenes contain one carbon-carbon double bond so are unsaturated
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Exam Tip
Your notes
Remember: Saturated compounds have Single bonds only. Unsaturated compounds have doUble
bonds
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Naming Organic Compounds
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Naming organic compounds
The names of organic compounds have two main parts:
the stem (sometimes called the prefix)
end part (or suffix)
The stem indicates the number of carbon atoms present in the longest continuous chain of the
compound
Number of carbon atoms in
Part of the chemical's name
the longest chain
1 meth
2 eth
3 prop
4 but
5 pent
6 hex
The end part of the name tells you what functional group is in the compound
End part of the name Functional group Organic family
none
ane (contains only C-C Alkane
bonds)
ene C=C bond Alkene
anol –OH Alcohol
anoic acid –COOH Carboxylic acid
amine –NH2 Amine
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-yl -anoate –COOC– Ester
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Structures of organic compounds
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Worked example
Your notes
Name the following organic compounds:
2 3
1
Answers:
1. Butanoic acid
The longest carbon chain is 4 carbons, so the name contains but
The functional group is COOH, so the name contains -anoic acid
2. Propene
The longest carbon chain is 3 carbons, so the name contains prop
The functional group is C=C, so the name contains -ene
3. Pentanol
The longest carbon chain is 5 carbons, so the name contains pent
The functional group is OH, so the name contains -anol
Exam Tip
Make sure you can draw and name the structures given above.
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Further naming of organic compounds
Extended tier only Your notes
When there is more than one carbon atom where a functional group can be located it is important to
distinguish exactly which carbon the functional group is on
Each carbon is numbered and these numbers are used to describe where the functional group is
For example:
Propan-1-ol is an alcohol with an -OH functional group
The 1 in the name indicates that the -OH group is located on the first carbon atom
Careful: There are many times when the numbering should start from the right - this is to keep the
numbers as low as possible in chemical names
In propan-1-ol the -OH group is located on the first carbon atom
Alkanes
As before, the number of carbon atoms gives the part of the compounds name
Alkanes contain only single carbon-carbon bonds, C–C, which means that their name ends with –ane
Some compounds, like alcohols and carboxylic acids, have –an– in their name
This indicates that those compounds contain only single carbon-carbon bonds, C–C
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Alkenes
As before, the number of carbon atoms gives the part of the compounds name
Alkenes contain at least one double carbon-carbon bond, C=C, which means that their name ends
with –ene
The first alkene is ethene because you must have two carbons to be able to form a double carbon-
carbon bond, C=C
After propene, you must state the number of the first carbon that is part of the double carbon-carbon
bond, C=C
e.g. but-1-ene has a double carbon-carbon bond, C=C, on the first carbon in the chain
But-2-ene has a double carbon-carbon bond, C=C, on the second carbon in the chain
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Your notes
Alcohols
As before, the number of carbon atoms gives the part of the compounds name
Alcohols contain an alcohol / hydroxyl group, –O–H, which means that their name ends with –anol
After ethanol, you must state the number of the carbon that has the alcohol / hydroxyl group, –O–H,
attached
e.g. propan-1-ol has the alcohol / hydroxyl group, –O–H, on the first carbon in the chain
Propan-2-ol has the alcohol / hydroxyl group, –O–H, on the second carbon in the chain
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Carboxylic acids
As before, the number of carbon atoms gives the part of the compounds name Your notes
Carboxylic acids contain a carboxylic acid group, –COOH, which means that their name ends with –
anoic acid
There is no need to number carboxylic acids because the carbon that is part of the carboxylic acid
group is autmatically the first carbon of the chain
Esters
Esters are one of the more challenging compounds to name
Their name is based on the original alcohol and carboxylic acid that they were prepared from
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Your notes
Ester names are confusing because the name is written backwards from the way the structure is drawn
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Your notes
Methyl methanoate
The acid portion of the molecule contains the C–O single bond and is coloured green
There is one carbon, so this gives the methyl part of the name
The carboxylic acid portion contains the C=O double bond and is coloured purple
The is one carbon, so this gives the methanoate part of the name
Methyl ethanoate
The acid portion of the molecule contains the C–O single bond and is coloured green
There is one carbon, so this gives the methyl part of the name
The carboxylic acid portion contains the C=O double bond and is coloured purple
The are two carbons, so this gives the ethanoate part of the name
Ethyl ethanoate
The acid portion of the molecule contains the C–O single bond and is coloured green
There are two carbons, so this gives the ethyl part of the name
The carboxylic acid portion contains the C=O double bond and is coloured purple
The are two carbons, so this gives the ethanoate part of the name
Exam Tip
Extended tier students should be able to draw the structural and displayed formulae for all of the
compounds written above.
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