1. Hydrocarbons
Ms. Richardson
SCH3u/4c

2. Organic Chemistry Organic chemistry centers around the element carbon.
Hydrocarbons are compounds made of the elements hydrogen and carbon.
Hydrocarbons are the foundation of organic chemistry

3. Why is carbon so special?
Carbon is unique as it is a group 14 element that can form up to four covalent bonds per carbon atom.
Methane is the simplest of hydrocarbons.

4. Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are classified by the types of bonds contained within the compound.
There are four major groups of hydrocarbons that we will study:
Alkanes
Alkenes
Alkynes
Aromatics

5. Alkanes Alkanes are the simplest group of hydrocarbons.
They contain only single bonds, and are said to be saturated
General formula: CnH2n+2 (where n is the number of carbons)

6. Representing Alkanes
Structural formula: shows how the atoms are bonded together
Condensed structural formula: omits the bonds between C and H
Bond-line structure: a zig-zag formation showing only the bonds, where each point represents a carbon atom
CH3-CH2-CH3

7. Naming Straight-Chained Alkanes
# of C atoms
Prefix 1
Meth- 2
Eth- 3
Prop- 4
But- 5
Pent- 6
Hex- 7
Hept- 8
Oct- 9
Non- 10
Dec-
Naming Straight-Chained Alkanes
Find the longest continuous chain of C atoms – this is the parent chain
Use the appropriate prefix based on the number of C atoms in the main chain
Add the suffix “–ane”

8. Naming Branched Alkanes
Many hydrocarbons are not simple straight- chained molecules and involve a great deal of branching.

9. Naming Branched Alkanes
Identify the main chain and name it accordingly
Count the carbons in the parent chain, giving the lowest number to the end closest to a branch
Identify each branch and name it using the appropriate prefix and the suffix “–yl”
Indicate the number of each size of branch using an additional prefix (di, tri, tetra, etc.)
Place the names of the branches in front of the parent chain in alphabetical order
Indicate the position of the side chain by indicating the carbon # it is attached to (in front of the branch name)

10. Example: Branched Chain Alkane1 2 3 4 5 6
Parent chain: hexane
Branches: 3,4-dimethyl
Name of compound:
3,4-dimethylhexane
Please note that all numbers and letters are separated by a hyphen

11. Example:
4-ethyl-2,2-dimethylhexane