1.11 Naming the Carboxylic Acids
Module 2
Lesson 1.11 Naming the Carboxylic Acids
Key Concepts
To name a carboxylic acid, identify the parent chain (main chain). Drop the "e" in the alkane name and add "oic acid".
Study the structures and names of the following carboxylic acids.
| Structure | IUPAC name |
 |
methanoic acid |
 |
ethanoic acid |
 |
propanoic acid |
 |
butanoic acid |
 |
octanoic acid |
 |
benzoic acid |
|
Learning Tip When determining
whether a compound is saturated or unsaturated, only the presence of
carbon-carbon double or triple bonds makes a compound unsaturated. Double bonds
in a functional group do not characterize a compound as being
unsaturated. For example, propanoic acid is classified as a saturated compound
because all of its carbon atoms are joined to each other by single bonds. The
double bond between carbon and oxygen does not make propanoic acid unsaturated. |
Check Your Understanding
Complete Practice Question 2 on page 438 of the textbook.
Check your work by clicking on the link below.
- methanoic acid (You may hear the common name "formic acid".)
- pentanoic acid (You may hear the common name "valeric acid".)
- hexanoic acid (You may hear the common name "caproic acid".)