Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Ketones

Both aldehydes and ketones are often referred to as carbonyl compounds. The difference between aldehydes and ketones, however, lies in the atoms or groups to which the carbon of the carbonyl group is bonded. In aldehydes, at least one of the bonds is connected to a hydrogen atom, while in ketones neither bond is connected directly to hydrogen, but both are connected to carbon atoms.

In naming ketones,

  1. Identify the parent chain, it must include the carbonyl group

  2. Number the parent chain starting from the end closest to the carbonyl location.

  3. Identify the various branching groups attached to this continuous chain of carbons by name.

  4. Change the "e" ending and replace it with -one.

    Examples:

       CH3
   |
   C=O
   |
   CH3
    propanone (acetone)
    		 
       CH3CH2
      |
      C=O
      |
      CH2CH2CH3
    3-hexanone