Question 24.4: Writing the IUPAC Name of an Alkane Given the Structural For...

a. The longest continuous chain is numbered as follows:

The name of the compound is 4-propyloctane. If the longest chain had been numbered in the opposite direction, you would have the name 5-propyloctane. But because 5 is larger than 4 , this name is unacceptable. b. The numbering of the longest chain is

Any of the three clustered methyl carbon atoms could be given the number 1 , and the other methyl groups branch off carbon atom 2. Hence, the name is 2,2-dimethylhexane.

ANSWER CHECK

Once you have come up with the name, check and see if using this name leads you back to the correct structural formula.