High school9 min

Recognising and naming functional groups

The eight families to spot at a glance, the one question that separates aldehyde, ketone, acid and ester, and the suffix that goes with each.

The essentials

A functional group is a small set of atoms that gives the molecule its chemical properties: it is the reactive site. The rest — the carbon chain — is written R . Two molecules with the same group react the same way, whatever the length of R.

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Members only

A functional group is a small set of atoms that gives the molecule its chemical properties: it is the reactive site. The rest — the carbon chain — is written R . Two molecules with the same group react the same way, whatever the length of R.

Members only

Members only

Members only

Members only

Members only