Homework Help: Organic Chemistry

Posted by Angela on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:24pm.

I'm a beginner in the subject. It's a category that is overviewed in my AP Chem class. I need some help understanding the following:

dimethyl-n-butylmethane
diethylmethylmethane
diethyldimethylmethane
trimethylisobutylmethane
diethylisopropylmethane
dimethylisopropylmethane

...to be continued.

Basically, I understand the ethyl, methyl, butyl, and methane compounds on their own, but I don't know how to contruct them. From there, I might be able to find each isomer and use the IUPAC nomenclature to name them. We were introduced to the subject in class, given homework, and just sort of expected to do it. I'm very lost, and starting to doubt my understanding of chemistry.

Help?

Organic Chemistry - DrBob222, Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:56pm
I'm not sure this will address your trouble because I'm a little confused by the question. However, for a beginner, here are the basics.
Carbon has a valence of 4; therefore, there will ALWAYS be four bonds attached somehow and someway. We can't draw diagrams on these boards but I can try to explain a couple of them.
For diethylmethylmethane do the following:
Draw a methane molecule.
  H
  |
H-C-H
  |
  H
(I hope that comes out well enough but of course you know how to draw methane, anyway.)
Now, remove one of the H atoms and replace it with a -CH3 group. Then remove another of the H atoms from the original CH4 structure and replace it with -C2H5 group. Do the same with another of the original H atoms. That gives you a central C with 1 H attached, two C2H5 groups attached, and a CH3 group attached.
I hope this helps but don't hesitate to let me know if this isn't what you were looking for.
- Organic Chemistry - DrBob222, Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:59pm
  The structure didn't come out quite right. Here is another go at it.
  H
  |
  H-C-H
  |
  H
  - Organic Chemistry - DrBob222, Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:59pm
    A little better. You get the idea.

Answer this Question

Related Questions

complete and simple subject - in this sentences (Some people like to take ...
college - Organic chemistry question. I need help with a couple of questions on ...
AP Chemistry - Hey I have the AP Chem test coming up and i was wondering where I...
Ap World History - This is my teachers first year teaching this class. So... I&#...
Biology - Can you provide me with a simple understanding of fick's law. ...
Organic Chemistry - Does anybody know of a website that explains organic ...
Organic substances - Is adhesive tape organic or inorganic? Also are shoes ...
Clarify: Category and Type - What is the difference between category and type? I...
organic chem - organic chemistry lab and why is water the first choice for ...
chemistry - I need to create an experiment to seperate and identify the ...

For Further Reading

First Name:
School Subject:
Answer: