Branched Hydrocarbons

To name hydrocarbons, must be done under this rules:

1. Find the longest chain of carbons in the molecule. This chain is considered the parent structure.
2. Number the carbons in the main chain in sequence.
3. Add numbers to the names of the substituent groups to identify their positions on the chain. These numbers become prefixes to the name of the alkyl group.
4. Use prefixes to indicate the appearance of the same groups more than once in the structural formula. Common prefixes are di- (twice), tri- (three times), tetra- (four times), and penta- (five times).
5. List the names of the alkyl substituents in alphabetical order. For porpoises of the alphabetizing, ignore the prefixes di-, tri-, and so on.
6. Use proper punctuation. This is very important in writing the names of organic compounds in the IUPAC system. Commas are used to separate numbers. Hyphens are used to separate numbers and words. The entire name is written without any spaces.

For example:

IUPAC Name: 3-Methylpentane.

Condensed formula: CH₃-CH₂-CH(CH₃)-CH₂-CH₃

Molecular formula: C₆H₁₄