Alcohols are not hydrocarbons as they contain an oxygen atom.
They have the functional group ‘-OH‘ in their molecule.
They have the general formula: CnH₂n₊₁OH
If (n = 3), the compound would be:
C₃H₂₍₃₎₊₁OH = C₃H₇OH
Every alcohol’s name ends in ‘-ol’.
An alcohol’s prefix always changes according the number of carbon atoms present in the compound.
Some common alcohols:
Name of the Alcohol | No. of Carbon atoms | Formula |
Methanol | 1 | CH₃OH |
Ethanol | 2 | C₂H₅OH |
Propanol | 3 | C₃H₇OH |
Butanol | 4 | C₄H₉OH |
Pentanol | 5 | C₅H₁₁OH |
Hexanol | 6 | C₆H₁₃OH |
Heptanol | 7 | C₇H₁₅OH |
Octanol | 8 | C₈H₁₇OH |
Nonanol | 9 | C₉H₁₉OH |
Decanol | 10 | C₁₀H₂₁OH |