Question

Match the number of carbon atoms with its corresponding word root.

• A. eth
• B. but
• C. hept
• D. dec

Answer 1

Word root in the IUPAC nomenclature of a compound represents the number of carbon atoms present in the parent chain.

The word roots used for the number of carbon atoms present in the parent chain of the molecule are:

$\begin{array}{cccc}\text{Chain length}& \text{Word root}& \text{Chain length}& \text{Word root}\\ C_1& \text{Meth}& C_{11}& \text{Undec}\\ C_2& \text{Eth}& C_{12}& \text{Dodec}\\ C_3& \text{Prop}& C_{13}& \text{Tridec}\\ C_4& \text{But}& C_{14}& \text{Tetradec}\\ C_5& \text{Pent}& C_{20}& \text{Eicos}\\ C_6& \text{Hex}& C_{30}& \text{Triacont}\\ C_7& \text{Hept}& C_{40}& \text{Tetracont}\\ C_8& \text{Oct}& C_{50}& \text{Pentacont}\\ C_9& \text{Non}& C_{60}& \text{Hexacont}\\ C_{10}& \text{Dec}& & \end{array}$