Carbon compounds are organised into families that share a functional group. Once you can name the family, most names, structures and reactions become predictable.
This cluster sits in SPM Chemistry. It is easier after chemical bonding, because every organic molecule is built from covalent bonds.
How do the lessons connect?
Each lesson supplies something the next one uses. Study them in this order.
- Identifying homologous series and functional groups gives you the families.
- Naming and drawing organic structures turns a family into a name and a picture.
- Distinguishing isomers shows that one formula can give several structures.
- Writing characteristic organic reactions links each family to its reactions.
- Planning a reaction pathway chains those reactions.
- Comparing polymers and monomers finishes with addition polymerisation.
What does one connection look like?
Ethene, C₂H₄, is an alkene because it has a C=C double bond. That bond explains three facts at once: its name ends in -ene, it decolourises bromine water, and it is the monomer of poly(ethene).
Add steam and it becomes ethanol, an alcohol with the -OH group. Oxidise ethanol and it becomes ethanoic acid, which reacts with more ethanol to make an ester. One molecule has led to four families by changing only the functional group.
Who should start where?
If the general formulas CₙH₂ₙ₊₂ and CₙH₂ₙ are unfamiliar, begin with lesson 1. If you can name compounds but equations feel shaky, begin at lesson 4. Test the whole cluster with the practice set.
Keep a record of the slips in the mistake log and paper-error review. For a teacher to work through your drawings and equations, see online one-to-one Chemistry tuition.