Question

Name the stem (or word root) of a hydrocarbon containing six Carbon atoms.

Answer 1

• The number of carbon atoms in the longest possible continuous Carbon chain, also known as the parent chain, is indicated by the word root of the IUPAC name.
• The following stems indicate the number of carbon atoms in a hydrocarbon molecule:

No. of carbon atoms:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Stem:	Meth	Eth	Prop	But	Pent	Hex	Hept	Oct

• Therefore, the Name of the stem (or word root) of a hydrocarbon containing six Carbon atoms is ‘Hex’.