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Chemistry

IUPAC Naming of Organic Compounds

Parent Chains, Functional-Group Priority, and E/Z and R/S Stereodescriptors — A TLDR Primer

Organic chemistry nomenclature is the part of chemistry where students lose points not because they don't understand molecules — but because nobody walked them through the naming rules clearly and in the right order.

This TLDR guide fixes that. *IUPAC Naming of Organic Compounds* is a focused, concise guide that teaches you the systematic naming system used by chemists worldwide: how to identify the longest carbon chain, assign locants, rank functional groups by priority, handle rings and aromatic compounds, and attach stereochemical descriptors like *R/S* and *E/Z*. Whether you're working through an organic chemistry primer for college freshmen or reviewing before an AP Chemistry exam, this guide gives you the algorithm, the vocabulary, and enough worked examples to apply the rules on your own.

The book covers five core areas: reading an IUPAC name before you ever write one, naming alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes step by step, functional group priority and suffix rules for alcohols, amines, carbonyls, acids, and esters, cyclic and aromatic compounds including benzene retained names, and CIP-based stereochemistry tags. Every key term is defined on first use. Every rule comes with a concrete example.

This is not a textbook — it's a sharp, no-filler study tool designed for students who need to get oriented fast and practice confidently. Parents helping with homework and tutors prepping a session will find it equally useful.

Pick it up, work through the examples, and walk into your next exam knowing exactly what to do with a chain of carbons.

What you'll learn
  • Identify the parent chain, substituents, and locants in an organic structure
  • Name straight-chain and branched alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes correctly
  • Apply functional group priority rules to name alcohols, amines, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and esters
  • Name simple cyclic and aromatic compounds, including substituted benzenes
  • Add stereochemical descriptors (cis/trans, E/Z, R/S) to a systematic name
What's inside
  1. 1. Why IUPAC Names Exist and How to Read One
    Introduces systematic nomenclature, the anatomy of an IUPAC name (prefix-parent-suffix), and the language students need before applying any rules.
  2. 2. Naming Alkanes, Alkenes, and Alkynes
    Walks through the core algorithm for naming hydrocarbons: longest chain, lowest locants, alphabetizing substituents, and handling double and triple bonds.
  3. 3. Functional Groups and Priority Rules
    Introduces the priority table for functional groups and shows how to choose the principal characteristic group, the suffix, and prefix substituents for compounds with alcohols, amines, carbonyls, acids, and esters.
  4. 4. Cyclic Compounds and Aromatic Rings
    Covers cycloalkanes, ring numbering, and naming substituted benzenes including ortho/meta/para and common retained names like toluene and phenol.
  5. 5. Stereochemistry in Names: cis/trans, E/Z, and R/S
    Adds the stereochemical descriptors that turn a flat name into a precise one, including CIP priority rules for assigning E/Z and R/S.
Published by Solid State Press
IUPAC Naming of Organic Compounds cover
TLDR STUDY GUIDES

IUPAC Naming of Organic Compounds

Parent Chains, Functional-Group Priority, and E/Z and R/S Stereodescriptors — A TLDR Primer
Solid State Press

IUPAC Naming of Organic Compounds

Parent Chains, Functional-Group Priority, and E/Z and R/S Stereodescriptors — A TLDR Primer

Copyright © 2026 Solid State Press.

Published by Solid State Press.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission, except for brief quotations in critical reviews and educational use.

Part of the TLDR Study Guides series.

Contents

  1. 1 Why IUPAC Names Exist and How to Read One
  2. 2 Naming Alkanes, Alkenes, and Alkynes
  3. 3 Functional Groups and Priority Rules
  4. 4 Cyclic Compounds and Aromatic Rings
  5. 5 Stereochemistry in Names: cis/trans, E/Z, and R/S
Chapter 1

Why IUPAC Names Exist and How to Read One

Before organic chemistry had systematic naming rules, a chemist in London and a chemist in Berlin might use completely different names for the same molecule — and neither would know it. One might call a compound "wood alcohol," another "methyl alcohol," and a third something else entirely. For organic molecules, which number in the tens of millions, that kind of chaos is unworkable.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, pronounced "eye-you-pack") is the international body that sets the rules used by chemists worldwide. Its naming system — called systematic nomenclature — assigns every organic molecule a unique, unambiguous name built from a small set of rules. Learn those rules, and you can decode (or construct) the name of any compound you encounter, even one you've never seen before.

Systematic vs. Common Names

Many molecules have common names — informal, historical labels that chemists kept using out of habit. Acetone, vinegar, and aspirin are all common names. They're convenient shorthand, but they tell you nothing about the molecule's structure. Systematic names, by contrast, encode the structure directly. The systematic name for acetone is propan-2-one: that single name tells you the molecule has a three-carbon chain with a ketone group on carbon 2. You'll still see common names in lab settings and on bottles, and Section 4 will note the handful that IUPAC officially retains (like "toluene"). For now, the goal is to read and write systematic ones.

The Three Parts of Every IUPAC Name

Every systematic name is built from three layers: prefix, parent, and suffix. Think of them as answering three questions in order.

The parent chain (also called the parent hydride) answers: How many carbons, and what is the core skeleton? The parent is the longest continuous carbon chain (or ring) in the molecule, and it gets a root name based on that count — meth- for 1 carbon, eth- for 2, prop- for 3, but- for 4, pent- for 5, and so on up the line. You will memorize these roots quickly; they reappear in every name you write.

About This Book

If you are staring down an AP Chemistry organic naming review unit, taking introductory organic chemistry as a college freshman, or simply trying to decode why a molecule is called 2-methylpropan-1-ol instead of something sensible, this book is for you. It works equally well for high school students doing organic nomenclature practice and for early college students who need a focused organic chemistry primer before their first exam.

This guide covers everything a beginner needs: how to name organic compounds from scratch, alkane and alkene naming with longest-chain rules, functional groups naming rules, cyclic and aromatic compounds, and stereochemistry — R/S and E/Z naming explained clearly with worked examples. A concise overview with no filler.

Read it straight through once, then work every example alongside the text. At the end, a short problem set lets you test what you have retained. Use this iupac naming organic chemistry study guide the night before an exam and you will walk in oriented.

Keep reading

You've read the first half of Chapter 1. The complete book covers 5 chapters in roughly fifteen pages — readable in one sitting.

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