Functional Groups of Organic Chemistry Explained in 9 Minutes

To understand the concept of functional

groups, first we need to understand what

an alky radical actually is and how it

is formed. To make it clear, let's take

the example of methane. If we remove one

hydrogen from it, then it will be

changed into an alky radical. So we can

say that whenever we remove one hydrogen

from any alkan, it will be changed into

an alky radical. In organic chemistry,

we generally refer to the alky radical

as R. But if we place any other group in

place of that removed hydrogen, it will

give rise to many different kinds of

organic compounds which actually is the

main reason for the formation of

functional groups. A functional group is

defined as the group of atoms or bonds

that gives specific properties to

organic compounds. To understand it

deeply, let's look at these two

structures. The first one is called

propane because it contains a single

bond and belongs to the saturated class

of organic compounds. But if we look at

the second structure, it also has three

carbons, but it contains a double bond

and its name will be prop. It belongs to

the unsaturated class of organic

compounds. As we can see, the presence

of single and double bonds in both

molecules has actually changed their

properties entirely. Although both have

the same number of carbons and this is

simply what functional groups do to all

compounds, they actually change the

properties of organic compounds when

attached to them. Now to understand

functional groups in detail we will

classify them into three main categories

such as functional groups containing

oxygen atoms, functional groups

containing nitrogen atoms and functional

groups containing halogen atoms. First

let's start with oxygen containing

functional groups. We will start with

alcohol. Its general formula is RH. As I

mentioned earlier here R will represent

any alkyal radical group. The O group is

called a hydroxal group and if it is

attached to any alkyal radical it will

be called alcohol. We can take the

example of methyl alcohol which is also

called methanol. Now let's move toward

the ether functional group. The general

formula of ether is ro. It means that if

oxygen contains alkal groups on both

sides it will be called ether. We can

take the example of dimethyl ether to

understand this functional group. But

keep in mind that ethers are of two

types such as symmetrical and

unsymmetrical ethers. If both alkyle

groups attached with oxygen are the

same, we will call it a symmetrical

ether. And if both alkyle groups are

different, they will be called

unsymmetrical ethers. Now we will move

towards compounds containing carbonal

carbon such as aldahhides and ketones.

First let's have a look at the

aldahhides group. Its general formula is

RC double bond O. But keep in mind here

carbonyl carbon refers to carbon that is

forming a double bond with oxygen. In

the case of aldahhides, it is not

necessary that it must contain an alkal

group. Sometimes it may contain hydrogen

on both sides of the carbonal carbon and

such a compound is called formaldahhide.

Now if we move towards ketones, the

general formula of ketones is RC double

bond O R. It means that in the case of

ketones, it contains an alkaal group on

both sides of the carbonal carbon. Keep

in mind both alkal groups must be

present on the sides of the carbonal

group. And if we replace any alkal group

with hydrogen then it will actually

change into an aldahhide group and we no

longer called it as ketones. So we must

remember both alkal groups are necessary

in this case. We can take the example of

acetone and propanone for the ketone

functional group. Now we will move

towards the caroxyic group. Its general

formula is RC double bond O. Here we can

see that the O group is attached to the

carbonal carbon along with the alkaal

group. We should never confuse alcohol

with the caroxyic group. Keep in mind in

the case of alcohols no carbonyl carbon

is present and the O group is directly

attached to the alkaal group. But in the

case of the caroxylic group carbonyl

carbon is present. We can take the

example of propaninoic acid. In the case

of the caroxyic group hydrogen can be

replaced by an alkal group and such

caroxyic acids will be called formic

acid. Now we will discuss the esester

functional group. Its general formula is

R C double bond O R. In this case, the

hydrogen atom of the caroxylic group

from O is replaced by an alkal group and

we get a new functional group called an

esther. A common example of the esester

group is methyl formate. Now we will

move towards functional groups

containing nitrogen atoms. First we will

discuss the amino group. Its general

formula is RNH2. We can take the example

of methylamine. But there is another

functional group called the imin group

and its general formula is RNH. Keep in

mind the amino group has two hydrogens

with nitrogen while the imin group will

have only one hydrogen attached to a

nitrogen atom. Now we will discuss the

amide group. In this case carbonal

carbon will be present and its general

formula will be RC double bond O N H2.

To understand it we can take the example

of acetamide. Moving towards the nitral

group. It contains a carbon nitrogen

triple bond and its general formula is

RCN. Sometimes it is also called a cyano

group. We can take the example of methyl

nitral to understand it. Now we will

move towards h hallogen containing

functional groups. First we will move

towards alkyle hallides. Their general

formula is RX. Here X refers to H

hallogens such as florine, chlorine,

bromine and iodine. We can take the

example of methyl chloride to understand

it. Next we will move towards the acid

halli functional group. Its general

formula is RC double bond O X. We must

remember that the acid hall functional

group is formed by removing the O group

in the caroxyic acid group and replacing

it with a h hallogen group. To make it

clear, we can take the example of acetal

chloride. The next functional group we

will discuss is theolles or the mercapto

functional group. Theols are similar to

alcohols and are obtained if we replace

the O group of alcohol with the SH group

and we will get the theol's functional

group. To understand it, we can take the

example of ethane theol. Now we will

discuss how we can name any functional

group in a very simple and easy way.

Let's start with alcohol. Keep in mind

that if a compound contains an alcohol

functional group, its IU pack name will

always end on O. For example, methanol,

ethanol and propanol. Here we can see

that each molecule's name ends in O. Now

if we move towards the caroxyic acids

group, the name will always end in OIC.

Let's take examples of methaninoic acid,

propinoic acid and butyricinoic acid. As

we can see in each case the name ends in

OIC. Now if we move towards the

aldahhide functional group the name of

the aldahhide group will always end in

al. We can understand this with examples

like ethanol, propanel and bututinol.

Here we can see that the name ends in

al. If we discuss how the name of the

ketones functional group is written or

ends. Keep in mind that the name of

ketones will always end in o ne. We can

also understand this with the help of

examples such as propanone, budanone and

pentanone. Here we also observe that the

name ends in O ne in each case. With the

help of these naming tricks, we can

easily write and remember the name of

any functional group. Now we will

discuss how to identify functional

groups in a molecular structure. You

need to focus on specific patterns of

atoms and bonds that define their

chemical properties. Begin by examining

the molecule for atoms like oxygen,

nitrogen, sulfur or halogens as these

atoms are often part of functional

groups. For example, if you see an

oxygen atom double-bonded to a carbon

atom, it forms a carbonal group. This

group can indicate different functional

groups depending on what is attached to

the carbonal carbon. If it is bonded to

a hydrogen atom, it is an aldahhide. If

bonded to two other carbons, it is a

ketone. Another common group to look for

is the hydroxal group, which

characterizes alcohols. If both a

hydroxal group and a carbonal group are

attached to the same carbon, it forms a

caroxyic acid. Amino groups can be

identified by the presence of a nitrogen

atom. bonded to one or two hydrogen

atoms. Theols contain a sulhydro group

while ethers have an oxygen atom bonded

between two carbon atoms. You can also

recognize functional groups based on

multiple bonds between carbon atoms. For

instance, if two carbons are triple

bonded, the molecule contains an alkine

functional group. A double bond between

carbons indicates an alken while single

bonds belong to alkanes. Halides can be

identified by a carbon atom directly

bonded to a H hallogen. Functional

groups are specific arrangements of

atoms within a molecule that define its

chemical properties and reactivity. They

act as the reactive sites in a molecule,

determining how it participates in

chemical reactions and interacts with

other compounds. Functional groups

provide a systematic way to classify

organic compounds and predict their

behavior making them fundamental in the

study of organic chemistry. For

instance, the hydroxal group imparts

alcohol properties while the caroxile

group confers acidic characteristics.

Their identification and understanding

are crucial for designing chemical

processes, synthesizing new compounds

and advancing fields like

pharmaceuticals, polymers and material

science. I hope this video was helpful

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about basic concepts of functional

groups. If it was helpful, kindly like,

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