Organic molecules

Table of Contents

1. Organic molecules
2. Hydrocarbons
   1. Names and structures of hydrocarbons
3. Reactions of hydrocarbons
   1. Substitution reactions
   2. Addition reactions
4. Functional groups
   1. Identifying functional groups
5. Alcohols
   1. Structure of alcohols
   2. Physical properties of alcohols
6. Reactions of alcohols
   1. Oxidation reactions
   2. Carboxylic acids
   3. Alcohols, carboxylic acids and esters
   4. Identification of alcohols
7. Nitrogen in organic molecules
   1. Amines
   2. Amino acids
8. Determination of formulae and structures
   1. Empirical formulae
   2. Molecular mass and formula

1. Additional resources:
   1. Glossary
   2. Print content

Alcohols

When people talk about alcohol they are often referring to ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH), but ethanol is only one of a range of compounds that contain the -OH functional group. Three examples are shown here.

Click on the image to enlarge

One of the things to consider is the position of the -OH group in the molecule. This is indicated by using a number within the name, as shown by the examples below.

Propan-1-ol

Propan-2-ol

The position of the functional group may have a significant effect on the behaviour of the alcohol, so this is considered in more detail in the next section.