Nomenclature of Carbon Compounds:
The names of all carbon compounds are derived from IUPAC nomenclature .
As per this Nomenclature
- One Carbon Atom in a compound is indicated by 'Meth’
- Two Carbon Atoms in a compound are indicated by 'Eth ’
- Three Carbon Atoms in a compound are indicated by 'Prop ’ and so on.
- The saturation of a carbon compound is indicated by adding suffixes to the prefixes discussed above.
For Alkanes :
- The suffix is ‘ane’
So, a carbon compound with 1 carbon atom will have the prefix ‘meth’ and a suffix ‘ane’ and will be called ‘Methane’.
Examples of Alkanes:
No of Carbon Atoms |
Name |
Formula |
1 |
Methane |
CH 4 |
2 |
Ethane |
C 2 H 6 |
3 |
Propane |
C 3 H 8 |
4 |
Butane |
C 4 H 10 |
5 |
Pentane |
C 5 H 12 |
6 |
Hexane |
C 6 H 14 |
7 |
Heptane |
C 7 H 16 |
8 |
Octane |
C 8 H 18 |
9 |
Nonane |
C 9 H 20 |
10 |
Decane |
C 10 H 22 |
For Alkenes :
- The suffix is ‘ene’
- An Alkene is a hydrocarbon in which carbon atoms are connected by double bonds .
- Now, a single carbon atom cannot form double bonds with itself.
- So, “Methene” does not exist .
A carbon compound with 2 carbon atoms and a double bond will have the prefix ‘Eth’ and a suffix ‘ene’ and will be called ‘Ethene’.
Examples of Alkenes
No of Carbon Atoms |
Name |
Formula |
2 |
Ethene |
C 2 H 4 |
3 |
Propene |
C 3 H 6 |
4 |
Butene |
C 4 H 8 |
5 |
Pentene |
C 5 H 10 |
6 |
Hexene |
C 6 H 12 |
7 |
Heptene |
C 7 H 14 |
8 |
Octene |
C 8 H 16 |
9 |
Nonene |
C 9 H 18 |
10 |
Decene |
C 10 H 20 |
For Alkynes :
- The suffix is ‘yne’
- These are the hydrocarbons in which carbon atoms are connected by triple bonds .
- Now, a single carbon atom cannot form triple bonds with itself.
- So, “Methyne” does not exist .
A carbon compound with 2 carbon atoms and a triple bond will have the prefix ‘Eth’ and a suffix ‘yne’ and will be called ‘Ethyne’.
Examples of Alkynes:
No of Carbon Atoms |
Name |
Formula |
2 |
Ethyne |
C 2 H 2 |
3 |
Propyne |
C 3 H 4 |
4 |
Butyne |
C 4 H 6 |
5 |
Pentyne |
C 5 H 8 |
6 |
Hexyne |
C 6 H 10 |
7 |
Heptyne |
C 7 H 12 |
8 |
Octyne |
C 8 H 14 |
9 |
Nonyne |
C 9 H 16 |
10 |
Decyne |
C 10 H 18 |