GCSE Chemistry (AQA)

196 videos | 19 hours

Alcohol Names & Formulae

Please subscribe to watch this video.

This, and all other videos, are included in our premium subscriptions.

Premium accounts get access to all videos.

Organic chemistry Reactions of alkenes and alcohols

Alcohol Names & Formulae

4:57 Alcohols: Structure, Formula, and Reactions
Spec 4.7.2.3
Previous Reactions of Alkenes Next Reactions of Alcohols
  • Alcohols have various uses such as fuels, solvents, and in alcoholic drinks.
  • Camping stoves use alcohol as fuel due to its easy combustion and high heat release.
  • Alcohols are better solvents than water, making them useful in perfumes.
  • Ethanol is the main type of alcohol used in alcoholic drinks.
  • Alcohols are a homologous series with the functional group OH.
  • A homologous series is a family of compounds with the same general formula, functional group, and similar chemical reactions.
  • The OH group determines the properties and reactions of alcohols.
  • Alcohols consist of a chain of carbons and hydrogens, represented by the letter R.
  • The first four alcohols have 1 to 4 carbon atoms and an OH group.
  • Alcohol names have the suffix "ol" from "alcohol," and the prefix indicates the number of carbon atoms.
  • Alcohols can be represented by different types of formulae, including molecular and structural formulae.
  • Structural formulae show all atoms and bonds in a molecule.
  • Methanol consists of one carbon atom bonded to an OH group and three hydrogens.
  • Ethanol has two carbon atoms, with one bonded to the OH group and the other to three hydrogens.
  • Propanol has three carbons, with an additional carbon and two hydrogens in the chain.
  • Butanol has four carbons with another CH2 in the middle.
  • Condensed structural formulae show the order of bonded atoms or groups in a molecule.
  • Methanol's condensed formula is CH3OH, indicating carbon bonded to three hydrogens and the OH group.
  • Ethanol's condensed formula is CH3CH2OH, showing separate carbon bonds.
  • Propanol's condensed formula is CH3CH2CH2OH, with a CH2 between end groups.
  • Butanol's condensed formula is C3CH2CH2CH2OH, with another CH2 group in the middle.

Please subscribe to access these revision notes.

This, and all other video notes, are included in our premium subscriptions.

Premium accounts get access to all videos and revision notes.