In organic chemistry , functional groups are specific groups of atoms within

molecules, that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those
molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical
reaction(s) regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of. In organic molecules,
the atoms are linked by covalent bonds. Organic molecules are generally large and
may be complex, involving many such bonds. Inorganic compounds have
considerably simpler structure in terms of number, but not necessarily type, of bonds.
In organic molecules, to a first approximation, we may say that one bond does not
affect another. Thus an atom such as a chlorine atom, -Cl, or a group of atoms such as
the alcohol group, -OH, on one end of a molecule will behave chemically in the same
way almost without regard to the molecule to which it is covalently attached. The
idea of different independent or semi-independent atoms or groups of atoms on the
same molecule is central to our modern understanding of organic chemistry. It is
called the concept of functional groups. The nomenclature of organic compounds,
like most of the rest of our understanding of reactions of organic compounds, is based
upon the concept of functional groups. Functional groups consist of one or more
atoms, and they can be atoms of identical or different elements. The simplest organic
molecule is one carbon bonded covalently to four hydrogens, CH 4. This compound, a
gas, is called methane and is a major component of natural gas. For any other
functional group to attach itself to methane, one hydrogen must be removed and the
other functional group must be attached in its place. This process is
called substitution of the functional group. The principle used is that organic
compounds are named and generally understood as substituted compounds of carbon
and hydrogen, the substitution being that of a functional group for one or more
hydrogens. The simplest compounds of carbon and hydrogen are the Alkanes,
followed by the Alkenes and Alkynes.

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http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/01/24/functional-groups-in-organiccompounds/
General Formula (https://www.rosehulman.edu/~brandt/Chem251/Functional_groups.pdf)