Summary of Chemistry Textbook: Section 11.

2 Introducing Functional Groups

- Introducing other types of atoms into a hydrocarbon results in a vast range of compounds
with greater chemical reactivity than the alkanes
- Atoms or groups of atoms attached to a hydrocarbon chain are called functional groups
- Functional groups are significant because they change the reactivity of the molecule and
frequently dictate the chemical properties of the compound
Alcohols
- Made up of an oxygen atom bonded to a hydrogen atom
- This OH group is known as a hydroxyl group and replaces one hydrogen in the structure of
an alkane
- Prefixes that are used to indicate the number of carbon atoms still apply to alcohols,
however the suffix of the name of an alcohol is always ol
- General formula: C
n
H
2n+1
OH
- Boiling points of alcohols increase as the size of the alcohol increases; however, the boiling
points of the alcohols are all higher than those of the alkanes of similar size
- Alcohols are liquids at room temperature
- Higher boiling point is due to the presence of the OH group, which allows hydrogen
bonding to occur between molecules and strengthens the intermolecular bonding
- Hydrogen bonding and other types of intermolecular bonding which influence boiling and
melting points
- Volatility can be defined as how easily a substance evaporates, therefore lower the boiling
point, the greater its volatility, thus the volatility of the alcohols is lower than that of the
alkanes
- Hydrogen bonding also influences the solubility of the alcohols
- Presence of the hydroxyl (OH) group allows hydrogen bonds to form between water
molecules and alcohol molecules
- Smaller alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, this ensures that the alcohol readily
dissolves in water but as the size of the carbon chain in the alcohol increases, the solubility
in water decreases
- Increasing length of the hydrocarbon chain mans that the influence of the OH group
diminishes in comparison to that of the rest of the molecule
- A large proportion of the molecule is non-polar and unable to form hydrogen bonds, so its
attraction to the water molecules is low
- Position of the hydroxyl group is indicated by a number corresponding to the position in the
carbon chain of the carbon chain of the carbon atom to which the hydroxyl group is bonded
- As with all isomers, the carbon atoms are counted from the end closest to the hydroxyl
group
- Position of the hydroxyl group also influences the ability of the molecule to form
intermolecular bonds
- Primary alcohol: An alcohol in which the functional group is bonded to a carbon atom that is
bonded to only one other carbon atom
- Secondary alcohol: An alcohol in which the functional group is bonded to a carbon atom that
is bonded to two other carbon atoms
- Tertiary alcohol: An alcohol in which the functional group is bonded to a carbon atom that is
bonded to three other carbon atoms

Aldehydes and ketones
- Both are homologous series containing the carbonyl functional group (C=O)
- Carbonyl group is strongly polar and influences the physical and chemical properties of the
compounds it is found in
- General formula of aldehydes: C
n
H
2n
O or an aldehyde may generally be represented as RCHO
- To avoid confusion with alcohols, the aldehyde functional group written as CHO, indicating
that the H is not directly bonded to the O; in alcohols the functional group is written as OH
- Ketones and aldehydes both have a single carbonyl group (C=O)
- In aldehydes this carbonyl group is bonded to a carbon that is on the end of the carbon
chain; in ketones the carbonyl group is bonded to a carbon atom that is not on either end of
the carbon chain
- General formula of ketones: C
n
H
2n
O; however, they may generally be represented as RCOR
- Carbonyl group in ketones and aldehydes allows permanent dipole attraction to occur
between the molecules and makes the intermolecular bonding stronger than that in alkanes
of similar size but weaker than that in alcohols, in which the intermolecular bonding is
hydrogen bonding
- This results in the boiling points of aldehydes and ketones being higher than those of the
alkanes but lower than those of the alcohols
- As the length of the carbon chain increases, the strength of the van der waals forces
increases, thus increasing the boiling point of the compound
- With the exception of methanal, all the aldehydes and ketones are liquids at room
temperatures, so their volatility could be described as low
- Carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones is polar and this enables hydrogen bonding
between the carbonyl group and water molecules
- Solubility of the small aldehydes and ketones in water is due to this hydrogen bonding
- However, hydrogen bonding is not possible between aldehyde or ketone molecules
Carboxylic acids
- Are organic acids
- The carboxyl group has the formula COOH
- Functional group made up of a carbonyl group (C=O) and a hydroxyl (OH) group
- Both of these groups are polar and the electrons are drawn away from the from the
hydrogen atom, enabling it to de donated in an acid-base reaction
- These acids are not as strong as inorganic acids and are found in nature, for example in
citrus fruit, stings of insects, and vinegar
- High boiling points direct result of the presence of hydrogen bonding between carboxylic
acid molecules
- They pair up, forming dimers whose increased molecular mass results in stronger van der
Waals forces between the molecules
- Carboxylic acids liquids at room temperature, therefore low volatility
- Dissolved in water, dimers do not form; instead, hydrogen bonding occurs between the
carboxyl group of carboxylic acids and water molecules, making these compounds more
soluble in water
- Carbonyl group of the carboxylic acid forms hydrogen bonds with the slightly positive
hydrogen atom in the water molecule, and the hydrogen in the hydroxyl group of the
carboxylic acid forms hydrogen bonds with the non-bonding pair of electrons on the oxygen
atom in the water molecule
Halogenoalkanes
- Halogenoalkanes are molecules in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms within an
alkane molecule has been replaced by a halogen atom or halide functional group
- There is a large range of halogenoalkanes; however, they are almost all gases or liquids at
room temperature, indicating a generally higher volatility than many of the hydrocarbons
Other functional groups
- The amino group NH
2
a functional group that is present in organic bases called amines
- Like ammonia, the


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