Understandings:
• A homologous series is a series of compounds of the same family, with the
same general formula, which differ from each other by a common structural
unit.
• Structural formulas can be represented in full and condensed format.
• Structural isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but
different arrangements of atoms.
• Functional groups are the reactive parts of molecules.
• Saturated compounds contain single bonds only and unsaturated compounds
contain double or triple bonds.
• Benzene is an aromatic, unsaturated hydrocarbon.

Applications and skills:
• Explanation of the trends in boiling points of members of a homologous series.
• Distinction between empirical, molecular and structural formulas.

• Identification of different classes: alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, halogenoalkanes,
alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, esters, carboxylic acids, amines, amides,
nitriles and arenes.
• Identification of typical functional groups in molecules eg phenyl, hydroxyl,
carbonyl, carboxyl, carboxamide, aldehyde, ester, ether, amine, nitrile, alkyl,
alkenyl and alkynyl.
• Construction of 3-D models (real or virtual) of organic molecules.
• Application of IUPAC rules in the nomenclature of straight-chain and branchedchain
isomers.
• Identification of primary, secondary and tertiary carbon atoms in
halogenoalkanes and alcohols and primary, secondary and tertiary nitrogen
atoms in amines.
• Discussion of the structure of benzene using physical and chemical evidence.
Guidance:
• Skeletal formulas should be discussed in the course.
• The general formulas (eg CnH2n+2) of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, ketones,
alcohols, aldehydes and carboxylic acids should be known.
• The distinction between class names and functional group names needs to be
made. Eg for OH, hydroxyl is the functional group whereas alcohol is the class
name.
• The following nomenclature should be covered:
– non-cyclic alkanes and halogenoalkanes up to halohexanes.
– alkenes up to hexene and alkynes up to hexyne.
– compounds up to six carbon atoms (in the basic chain for nomenclature
purposes) containing only one of the classes of functional groups:
alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, halogenoalkanes, ketones, esters and
carboxylic acids.