Q.Derive the structure of
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Draw the parent carbon chain or ring first, number it according to IUPAC rules (lowest locants for substituents/functional groups), then attach substituents and functional groups at the specified positions. The five structures are systematically built from their names.
The IUPAC name of an organic compound is a complete blueprint: it tells you the carbon skeleton, where to number from, and exactly where each functional group and substituent sits. The art lies in translating that name into a structural formula by following a disciplined sequence.
The general strategy:
- Identify the parent chain or ring (the root word: hex = 6 carbons, pent = 5, cyclohex = 6-membered ring).
- Identify the principal functional group (suffix: -ane = alkane, -en = alkene, -ol = alcohol, -al = aldehyde) and any substituents (prefixes: chloro, nitro, hydroxy).
- Number the chain to give the principal functional group (or multiple bond, or substituent) the lowest possible locant.
- Attach everything at the positions indicated by the numbers.
Let's build each structure.
(i) 2-Chlorohexane
Parent: Hexane → 6-carbon saturated chain.
Substituent: Chloro at position 2.
- Draw a straight chain of 6 carbons:
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Number from either end; we choose left-to-right as 1 through 6.
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Attach to carbon 2:
Structure:
(ii) Pent-4-en-2-ol
Parent: Pent = 5 carbons.
Functional groups: -en (double bond at position 4), -ol (hydroxyl at position 2).
- Draw a 5-carbon chain:
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The principal functional group is the alcohol (), so numbering must give it the lowest locant. Number from the end that puts at carbon 2.
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Place at carbon 2 and a double bond between carbons 4 and 5:
Structure:
Students often number from the wrong end. The principal functional group (here, ) takes priority over the double bond when assigning locants.
(iii) 3-Nitrocyclohexene
Parent: Cyclohexene → 6-membered ring with one double bond.
Substituent: Nitro () at position 3.
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Draw a cyclohexane ring with one double bond. By convention, the double bond is between carbons 1 and 2 (cyclohex-1-ene is implied when no locant is given for the double bond in older nomenclature, but modern IUPAC would write cyclohex-1-ene; here "cyclohexene" implies the double bond starts at C1).
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Number the ring so that the double bond gets the lowest locants: C1–C2 contains the double bond.
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Attach at carbon 3.
Structure:
Or in a more standard depiction:
(The double bond is between C1 and C2; nitro group is on C3.)
(iv) Cyclohex-2-en-1-ol
Parent: Cyclohexene → 6-membered ring with one double bond.
Functional groups: -en (double bond at position 2), -ol (hydroxyl at position 1).
- Draw a 6-membered ring. …
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