English for Chemists

2. What does the term ‘saturated hydrocarbons’ mean? 
 
3. Which hydrocarbons are ‘unsaturated’? What type of bonds do they have? 
 
 
 
 
4. How are the following names of hydrocarbons pronounced in English? 
 
 
Alkanes 
 
 
alkenes 
 
 
alkynes 
methane 
__
__ 

---

50 
ethane
ethene
ethyne 
propane 
propene 
propyne 
 
butane
butene
butyne
pentane 
pentene 
pentyne 
hexane
hexene
hexyne
5. Some of these carbohydrates also have trivial names. Match them. 

ethylene 

propylene
acetylene 
methylacetylene 
butylene
6. How do we form the names of cyclic carbohydrates? 
 
 
7. What does the term ‘derivative’ mean? 

In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is formed from a similar compound if one atom is 

replaced with another atom or group of atoms. Different organic compounds containing similar 
carbon or non-carbon groups - so-called functional groups - within the molecules react similarly. 
This leads to the compounds being grouped in families according to the functional groups that they 
contain. 
8. What is a functional group? Here are some of the functional groups.
 
What are their English names and how are they pronounced? 
__________________ __________________ _________________ 

---

51 
___________________ __________________ __________________
_________________ _______________ 
Adapted from: http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa062703a.htm