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Organic chemistry
Course: Organic chemistry > Unit 3
Lesson 2: Naming alkanes, cycloalkanes, and bicyclic compoundsAlkane and cycloalkane nomenclature II
Correction: 2,2,6,6,7-pentamethyloctane is the correct name. I put a dash instead of a comma between the 6 and the 7 on the video. Created by Jay.
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- when do we use lowest sum rule and first point difference rule? in the above vedio it has been mentioned to use "first point difference rule " to justify which one of two names are correct(2-3-3-7-7-pentamethyloctane , 2-2-6-6-7-pentamethyloctane) , where he said the second one is correct . but it is not satisfying lowest sum rule .then how can second one be correct?(23 votes)
- There is no "lowest sum" rule in the IUPAC system. Rule 2.2 states:
"The longest chain is numbered from one end to the other with Arabic numerals, the direction being so chosen as to give the lowest numbers possible to the side chains. When a series of locants containing the same number of terms are compared term by term, that series is "lowest" which contains the lowest number on the occasion of the first difference. This principle is applied irrespective of the nature of the substituents."
IUPAC uses the "first point of difference" rule.(18 votes)
- AtJay names the coumpound 2,2-dimethylhexane. Is it necessary to write 2,2 when the name already states that there's a DIMETHYL branch coming off the parent chain. Wouldn't it just be 2-dimethylhexane? 2:02(3 votes)
- According to iupac nomenclature we must indicate the position where the methyl group is located.When you write only '2' you specify the location of only one methyl group.It is necessary to specify the location of other methyl group also.(19 votes)
- Doesn't the examples atcontradict the answer given from the previous example? Shouldn't the ethyl group in in 9:45be labelled as the first carbon? 7:57(5 votes)
- for the example atthe ethyl group cant be labeled as first carbon becoz that would give only one substituent but if we label the other carbon( having dimethyl group ) then we would have 2 substituents. thats what Jay says in the video from 7:57to 7:30. 7:55
hope that helps you:)(6 votes)
- How does the First Point of Difference Rule fail at? Doesn't 1-ethyl have a smaller number than 2-ethyl? 10:40(4 votes)
- I think that when Jay says the rule fails, he is simply saying it doesn't apply in this example since the numbers one would compare are 1 and 2 for both potential molecule names; that is, 1-ethyl-2-methylcyclopentane and 2-ethyl-1-methylcyclopentane don't have any numbers that differ from one another, so there is no "difference" for the First Point of Difference Rule to work. However, I think you are correct in saying that the rule should apply since ethyl is before methyl alphabetically in the name, regardless of number, and therefore the 1 would naturally be first. It's a little misleading because initially at, Jay says the rule is that you give your substituents the lowest number possible starting from the first number in the name, and then during this example at 5:13he says if there's no difference between the two numbers (i.e. the rule fails) then you put the lowest number on the first alphabetical substituent (he calls this the "Alphabet Rule"), but since the substituents are already supposed to be alphabetical, this seems a little redundant. 10:11(6 votes)
- Shouldn't the molecule be 1-ethyl-3,3-dimethylcyclohexane and not 3-ethyl-1,1-dimethylcyclohexane?(3 votes)
- If we say the ethyl is #1, we have numbers 1,3,3. But if we say the methyls are #1, we have 1,1,3. The first point of difference here is the second number is 1 if we label the methyls #1 vs 3 if we label the ethyl #1, so 3-ethyl-1,1-dimethyl is correct.(6 votes)
- athow to number the parent chain by lowest number rule if more than one side chains are present?? 3:40(2 votes)
- At, if there is one more propyl group attached to the cyclohexane, then according to the alphabet rule, numbering should begin from the ethyl group. However, shouldn't the numbering begin from the bulkiest group and hence the propyl group should get the number 1? 9:18(2 votes)
- I think you mean the ethyl group on the cyclohexane? Think about the counting rule. It's not about the bulkiest group, but about having the lowest position numbers in front of the group. If you put the 1 on the ethyl group, the other two methyl groups would both have at least a 3: 1-ethyl-3,3-dimethylcyclohexane. However the counting rules states that the lowest numbers have priority. So when i put the methyl groups on the first place (3-ethyl-1,1-dimethylcyclohexane), the first two numbers would be 1,1(,3). This is lower than 1,3(,3) (which would be the position numbers when ethyl is on 1st position). So placing the methylgroups on the 1st carbon has priority.
Hope this helps!(2 votes)
- Hi, with 3-ethyl-1,1-dimethylhexane example, why is it better to number the Carbon with dimethyl substituent 1 and not the carbon with ethyl substituent? If we were to number the Carbon with ethyl substituent and going anticlockwise from there, the compound would be named 1-ethyl-3,3-dimethylhexane. Wouldn't the latter name be better as it starts with a lower number 1 instead of 3?(1 vote)
- The rules say you need to use the lowest set of numbers for all the groups as possible, 1,1,3 is a lower set of numbers than 1,3,3, which is why it is the correct way to number this molecule.
There’s no rule that says the name of the molecule must start with the lowest number, only that the groups are listed alphabetically.(3 votes)
- At, 7:57
Why cant he start from the lower ethyl group??(2 votes)- just go through the video again fromto 7:30you will know the reason behind that 7:55
hope tht would be helpful :)(1 vote)
- How many alkanes exist as of 2019? (Hypothetically there are infinite of them, but I am asking how many are used in labs?(1 vote)
- That would depend completely on what lab you are talking about. It’s hard to give a good general answer but hexane is a fairly common solvent, Bunsen burner fuel is usually either natural gas (mostly methane) or LPG (a mix of propane and butane). They’re about all I can think of at the moment.(3 votes)
Video transcript
So here are the rules for
naming alkanes and cycloalkanes. You first find the longest
carbon chain and you name it. So let's go ahead and do that. So we can see that the longest
carbon chain for this example has five carbons, which
we know is pentane. The second step is
to number the chain to give the substituents
the lowest number possible. So I could number this
chain from the left or I could number it from the right. If I number it from the
left, I give that substituent a number of two. If I numbered it from the
right that substituent would have a number of four,
so numbering it from the left, for this example, is the
correct way to approach it. Identify and name your
substituents is step three. Well, I know that
this is a methyl group and that methyl group
is found on carbon two. So I would write
2-methylpentane, and that would be
the correct IUPAC name for this dot structure. I don't have to
worry about step four because I have only
one substituent. So when we see
multiple substituents we'll have to think about
using the alphabet rule. So 2-methylpentane is
the correct IUPAC name for this molecule, and
from that name you should be able to draw
the dot structure. Let's do another one here. So let's follow our steps. Find the longest carbon
chain and name it. So I have one, two,
three, four, five, six. So this would be hexane for
my longest carbon chain. Number to give your substituents
the lowest number possible. So once again I have a choice
of numbering from the left or from the right. In this case numbering
from the left would give my substituents
the lowest number possible. What are my substituents? Well, I have two methyl
groups this time, so I have to use a prefix. I have two methyl groups so I'm
going to call this dimethyl. So dimethylhexane. And those methyl groups are
coming off of carbon two, so I have to write
2, 2-dimethylhexane. So when you have prefixes
you would use di for two, you would use tri for three,
you would use tetra for four, you would use penta for
five, and hexa for six. So let's do another
nomenclature example. Let's look at this molecule. Find the longest carbon chain. So let's see, that would be one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven. And name it. So seven would be heptane. So I have heptane here. Number to give your substituents
the lowest number possible. My options are to
start from the left or to start from the right. This time it makes more
sense to start from the right because that gives my first
substituent a number of two, which would be lower than
if I started from the left. So one, two, three, four,
five, six, and seven. So that is heptane. Identify your substituents and
name them is the third step. So that's a methyl group
coming off of carbon two, and that is an ethyl group
coming off of carbon four. Which one comes first? The ethyl group or
the methyl group? Step four says
it's the alphabet. You arrange them alphabetically. So e comes before
m, so you're going to put ethyl before methyl. So you have an ethyl group
coming off of carbon four, so 4 ethyl. And a methyl group coming
off of carbon two, so 2 methyl if I can
squeeze it in here. So I have
4-ethyl-2-methylheptane is the official IUPAC
name for this molecule. What about something like this? Right, so this is a little
bit more complicated. Let's look at my
longest carbon chain and how many carbons are
in my longest carbon chain. Right? That would be eight. This is the exact same dot
structure, so both of these are going to be octane. Number your carbon chain
to give the substituents the lowest number possible. Well, if I number
from the left I would have my substituent
with a number of two. If I number from
the right I would have a substituent
with a number of two. So it's not immediately
obvious to me which would be the
correct way to start from. So let me go ahead and
just number all of them. One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight. And if I go this way one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So let's go ahead and
name both of these and let's see what we get. Well what kind of substituents
do I have on the left? I have, let's see, how
many methyl groups? A total of five methyl groups. So it'd be pentamethyl,
so pentamethyl-octane. And obviously they both
would be pentamethyl-octanes. It's the same dot structure
here, so pentamethyl-octane. Where are those methyl groups? Well on the left they are
on two, three, three, seven, seven, so 2, 3, 3, 7,
7-pentamethyl-octane. But when I'm on the
right my methyl groups are on two, two,
six, six, seven. So let me go ahead
and put that down. 2, 2, 6, 6,
7-pentamethyl-octane. So I want to give my
substituents the lowest number possible,
but I've already seen that that first number,
right, two versus two, is a tie. So that doesn't quite work. What I need to do is
go to the next number. So I have a three over here
and I have two over here. And you always want to do
the lowest number possible. So since two is a
lower number than three this is actually the
correct IUPAC name for this molecule, 2, 2,
6, 6, 7-pentamethyl-octane. This is called the first
point of difference rule. You want to give
your substituents the lowest number possible. So if there's a tie
with the first number you go to the second number
and compare those numbers. And if there's a tie
with the second number you go on to the third
number, and so on. So, in this case, the
first point of difference came with the second number. Let's look at cycloalkanes. So here I have a
cycloalkane, and you name it the same way you would
name a straight chain alkane. You first find the
longest number of carbons. In this case it's in a ring. So we have a total
of six carbons in a ring, which we
know is cyclohexane. So that's my parent name. So cyclohexane is
my parent name. Number the ring to give
the substituents the lowest number possible. Well here's my substituent, and
I know that's an ethyl group. I want to number my ring to
give that substituent the lowest number possible, so obviously
that must be number one. So which way do I
go around my ring? Well it doesn't matter
for this example because it'd be the exact
same since I have only one substituent. So six carbons
all the way around with an ethyl group
coming off of carbon one. So I could call this
1-ethylcyclohexane. Or you could even
leave off the one and just say
ethylcyclohexane, and it's implied that the ethyl group is
coming off of carbon one here. So that's how to
name a cycloalkane. Let's look at a more
complicated cycloalkane here. So now again I can see
that it's cyclohexane. That's my base name here. So this is going
to be cyclohexane. So I can go ahead
and put that down. Next I have to number
to give my substituents the lowest number possible. So which one of
these two carbons is going to be number one? I could make this
carbon number one, or I could make this
carbon number one. Well first point
of difference rule, if I make the top carbon
number one, that's going to give me
two number ones, versus if I make this
carbon down here number one I have only one substituent
coming off of carbon one. So the first point
of difference rule says this could not
be carbon number one. So carbon number one has
to be this top carbon up here like that. So how do I number my ring? Well I could go this way. I could go one, two,
three, four, five, six, or I could go the other way. I could say that's number one,
two, three, four, five, six. Which way is correct? Well if I think about
my substituents, this would be an ethyl group
coming off of carbon three whereas this would be an
ethyl group coming off of carbon five. So the one on the left is the
correct way to number your ring because it gives
your substituents the lowest number possible. So now we're ready to
go ahead and name it. Let's look at all
my substituents on this first example here. I have two methyl groups
coming off of carbon one, so that'd be dimethyl. I have an ethyl group
coming off of carbon three, so when I think about
the alphabet rule, I'm going to put the
ethyl group first. So I have 3-ethyl-1,
1-dimethylcyclohexane as the official name. Now sometimes
students get confused with the alphabet rule. Think about the parent name. Think about m versus e. E comes before m
in the alphabet. Prefixes don't matter. So don't think about
alphabetizing something with the D for di. Think about ethyl versus
methyl, and that will give you 3-ethyl-1, 1-dimethylcyclohexane
as the correct IUPAC name for this molecule. Let's look at
another example here. All right, so what do I do? What do I do for this one? Well, first thing, identify
the longest carbon chain, this case what kind
of cycloalkane is it? Well five carbons, so it's
going to be cyclopentane. So they're both going
to be cyclopentane here since it's the same molecule. Well which one
gets a number one? I could make this a number
one and this a number two, or I could make this a number
one and this a number two. So let's just go ahead
and name them both, and then let's see which
one is the correct name. So on the left I have
1-ethyl-2-methylcyclopentane. And on the right I would have
2-ethyl-1-methylcyclopentane. And the question is which
is the correct IUPAC name? First point of difference
rule doesn't really work because I have one that's
one then I have one that's two, so there is no first point
of difference for this. So if the first point of
difference rules fails, then you go to
the alphabet rule, and you say to
yourself, all right, so which one is going
to get a number one? Is it the ethyl that's
going to get a number one, or is it the methyl that's
going to get a number one? If first point of
difference rule fails, you go to the alphabet rule. So e comes before m, so the
ethyl group gets priority. So ethyl is number
one, and therefore this is the correct IUPAC name
for the molecule like that. So let's look at one more here. So how do I name this guy? So it's kind of funny looking. Well let's see how many carbons
are in my longest carbon chain. So there's one, two, three,
four, five, six, and seven. So there are seven
carbons in that chain. How many carbons are there
in the cyclo portion? There's one, two, and three. So I have more carbons in
my straight chain alkane than I do in my cycloalkane. And, therefore, I'm going
to name this as an alkane. So there are seven carbons,
so it's going to be heptane. And I have a cycloalkane
as an alkyl group now. So if this wasn't an alkyl
group I'd call it cyclopropane. I drop the ane ending because
it's now an alkyl group, so it becomes cyclopropyl. So I have a cyclopropyl group
coming off of my heptane. Let's see which carbon is that? Let's go ahead and number it. One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven. So I have a cyclopropyl group
coming off of carbon four. So it's 4-cyclopropyl-heptane. So when you have more
carbons in your chain than you do in your
cycloalkane you name it as a cycloalkyl
group, and then your alkane. Let's remind ourselves an
example up here where we had six carbons in our cycloalkane
, only two carbons in our alkyl. In that case you name it
as an alkyl cyclohexane. And if there's a tie,
let's say if there's a tie, the tie goes to the cycloalkane. So If you had six
carbons in both you would name it as an
alkyl cyclohexane molecule.