In order to correctly answer the question indicated in the title of the article and to understand this chemical definition well, you need to be aware of the fact that the properties of substances directly depend not only on the list of elements included in them, but also on their location. This will give a clearer idea of what a group is in chemistry.
Classification of Organic Compounds
The fact is that the functional group in the chemistry of organic compounds played a large role. It is known that any classification is based on specific features. Thus, the basis of the modern division of organic substances into classes formed two important features:
- carbon skeleton structure;
- the presence in the molecule of a functional group.
It turns out that the concept under consideration is a method of dividing compounds into classes and that such a group in chemistry is very important.
Why is she needed
The time has come to give a clear and concise definition of what a group is in chemistry and what is the point in it. Let's analyze in more detail.
A functional group is atoms or a group of atoms that have a great influence on the properties of a substance. They determine the membership of the compound in question in any class of elements. We give an example.
The following is a classification of the most important organic substances based on varieties of functional groups:
| Functional group | Title | Class |
| HE | hydroxyl group (hydroxyl group) | - Alcohols if the hydroxyl group is bonded to a non-aromatic hydrocarbon.
- Phenols if the hydroxyl group is bonded to the carbon of the benzene ring.
|
| C = O | oxo group (carbonyl group) | - Aldehydes, if the carbonyl group is at the primary carbon atom.
- Ketones, if the carbonyl group is at the secondary carbon atom.
|
| COOH | carboxyl group | Carboxylic acid |
| NH 2 | amino group | Amines |
The name “primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary” is given to the carbon atom depending on how many similar particles it is bound in the molecule.
Another role
In order to finally make sure that functional groups in chemistry, namely in organics, are of great importance, we will talk about the phenomenon of isomerism. It means that the substance has the same, both qualitative and quantitative composition, but can be built in different ways. Such elements are called isomers.
There are several types of isomerism, but we will talk about those that are associated with a change in the location of the functional group. In this process, the structure of the hydrocarbon is transformed due to its movement. For example, we give butanol-1 (CH 2 (OH) -CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 3 ) and butanol-2 (CH 3 -CH (OH) -CH 2 -CH 3 ). The number after the name of the substance indicates which carbon is associated with the functional group. The difference in structure is obvious.
In the article, we examined what a group is in chemistry.