Amines
Dopamine and amphetamines are compounds that contain the -NH2 functional group. More simple examples are methylamine (CH3NH2) and phenylamine (C6H5NH2), which is also known as aniline.
Primary amines
The only amines covered in this course are the primary amines. A primary amine is one where the -NH2 functional group is present in the molecule.
Other amines
Secondary and tertiary amines also exist, but they are not part of this course. These are formed when more than one carbon atom is attached to the nitrogen atom. For example, the molecule shown here is an example of a secondary amine.
Fortunately we do not have to consider these types of molecules, but it is worth noting that the meaning of the terms 'primary', 'secondary' and 'tertiary' are different when applied to amines compared to how you used them to distinguish between types of alcohol.
Naming primary amines
Amines can be named in a variety of ways. The best thing to do is to use the same method as you did when naming alcohols, with the ending of the name being -amine.
Use this link to access examples showing this method.
| Alcohol example | Amine example | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ethanol |  |
ethanamine |  |
|
butan-2-ol |
 |
butan-2-amine |  |
In amines, an alternative stem of the name is often used. For example, ethanamine can be called ethylamine, and methylamine is often used instead of methanamine.
Complete the questions below to match the names to the correct formulae of the primary amines below. You might need to draw out the structures of the amines.
1 |
Naming primary aminesChose the correct name from the drop-down list. |
