Final answer:
Alcohols are organic compounds with a hydroxyl (-OH) group attached to an aliphatic carbon atom. They are named by attaching the suffix '-ol' to the name of the parent alkyl chain or by using 'hydroxy-' as a prefix with numerical position for more complex molecules. Methanol and ethanol are the simplest examples of alcohols.
Step-by-step explanation:
Naming Alcohols and Their Functional Groups
An alcohol is an organic compound that contains one or more hydroxyl (-OH) groups attached to a carbon atom. These molecules can be represented by the formula R-OH, where R represents an alkyl group. Alcohols should not be mistaken for inorganic hydroxide ions (OH¯), as the hydroxyl in an alcohol is covalently bonded and does not ionize in solution.
When it comes to naming alcohols, simple alcohols like methanol (CH3OH), also known as methyl alcohol, and ethanol (CH3CH2OH), more commonly known as ethyl alcohol, follow the convention where the name of the alkyl group is followed by the word alcohol. Methanol and ethanol are the simplest and most well-known members of the alcohol family, which also includes substances such as cholesterol and carbohydrates.
For more complex molecules, the hydroxyl group may be named using the prefix hydroxy- with a numerical position to indicate its placement on the carbon chain, similar to other substituents like alkyl groups or halogens. An example would be 2-propanol, which can also be referred to as 2-hydroxypropane.
Common examples of an alcohol nomenclature include 2-methyl-2-propanol and 4-octanol, where the numbering indicates the position of the hydroxyl group on the carbon chain.