Question

What would you name the following compound?

Answer 1

To solve this question, we must first understand the parent chain in the compound. Then we must identify all the functional groups and then name the compound according to the nomenclature rules of IUPAC.

Complete Step-by-Step Answer:
Before we move forward with the solution of the given question, let us first understand some important basic concepts.
The nomenclature rules of IUPAC can be given as:
1.Find the longest chain of carbon atoms. This will be the parent chain of the compound.
2.Then identify all the substituents of the functional groups.
3.While numbering the functional group, the numbering on the parent chain should be such that it should be closest to the terminal carbon atom.
4.If the same functional group is occurring more than once, then while mentioning the functional group in the name of the hydrocarbon, appropriate position numbering should be mentioned. In addition, the number of times the substituent group occurs is indicated by a prefix (di, tri, tetra, etc.).
5.If chains of equal length are competing for selection as the parent chain, then the choice goes in series to:
a) the chain which has the greatest number of side chains.
b) the chain whose substituents have the lowest- numbers.
c) the chain having the greatest number of carbon atoms in the smaller side chain.
d)the chain having the least branched side chains.
Now, we can observe that there is 1 carbon atom in the parent chain of the compound. So, the parent chain is methane. This carbon atom has a carboxyl group. To address the carbonyl group, we end the name of the parent chain with the suffix ‘-al’. Hence the parent chain is now methanal.
Hence, the name of the given compound is methanal.

Note: Methanal is the IUPAC name of the given compound. This compound is generally also referred to as formaldehyde. Methanal (formaldehyde) is usually used as an aqueous solution containing $37\%$ $\left( {\dfrac{w}{w}} \right)$ methanal, known as formalin.