The Chem Wizard
Functional Groups & Nomenclature
The entire study of organic chemistry is the study of organic compounds - hydrocarbons and other functional groups, their properties and characteristics and their reactions to each other, acids and bases and the synthesis (formation/making) of these organic compounds, the instrumentations used to identify and quantify these compounds, and the applications of these organic compounds.
These organic compounds are organized into functional groups. Again, organic compounds are compounds in which at least one carbon atom is bonded with at least three hydrogen atoms like the one below. Hydrocarbons are the default organic compound, like a template. Or vanilla ice cream. And all of the other functional groups are like the other flavors of ice-cream: chocolate, strawberry, caramel, etc.
All organic compounds consists of a hydrocarbon chain, in which one or more of the hydrogen is replaced with one or more other atoms or compounds.
The above image is a three dimensional or 3D model (like a model train for trains, but this is a model for a hydrocarbon). This hydrocarbon has one carbon atom (gray) and four hydrogen atoms (white). This structure or unit is is an organic compound, and its specific nomenclature or name is methane. Methane is the smallest type of hydrocarbon.
The above image is a 3D model of another hydrocabon that is made of four carbon atoms (gray), and ten hydrogen atoms (white). This particular hydrocarbon is called butane. The nomenclature or the name of a hydrocarbon or any organic compound for that matter follows a system in which the name differs according to the number of carbon atoms are in the hydrocarbon, which I will discuss in a bit.
This 3D model depicts a modified hydrocarbon in which there are four carbon atoms (gray) and nine hydrogen atoms (white), and one oxygen atom (red) attached to one of the carbon atoms, and also attached to its own hydrogen atom (white attached to red).
Note that in the previous image that there were four carbon atoms, and ten hydrogen atoms, and in this image, the oxygen wih its own hydrogen replaced one of the ten hydrogens in the previous image. This compound is now an alcohol. It is not a hydrocarbon.
Hydrocarbon: Butane
Alcohol: Butanol
Hydrocarbons are made of hydrogen atoms and carbon atoms only. If any of the hydrogen atoms are replaced, it is not a hydrocarbon anymore.
If any of the hydrogen atoms are replaced, it is not a hydrocarbon anymore. In this case, the hydrogen is replaced with an -OH or oxygen attached to its own hydrogen atom (red attached to white). This is compound is a butanol of the functional group alcohol