Question

Give the IUPAC name of the following compounds:
Isopropyl alcohol.

Answer 1

Hint: The full form of IUPAC is the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In the chemical nomenclature, the IUPAC nomenclature in organic chemistry is a method used for the naming of organic chemical compounds. In the IUPAC system, the name of an organic compound consists of three parts:
Word root- It is the basic unit of the name. It depends upon the number of carbon atoms in the longest continuous carbon chain selected, called the parent chain. Depending upon the number of carbons in the chain the compound is assigned a word. For example, a chain containing carbons will be Eth.
The suffix- A suffix is added after the word root to indicate the nature of the carbon-carbon bond. For if the carbon chains contain a double bond then a suffix will be added as “ene”.
Prefix- The groups which are not regarded as functional but present in the carbon chain as substituents are written before the word root as the prefix. Such groups are fluorine, chlorine, nitro, etc.

Complete step by step answer:
The structure of Isopropyl alcohol is

As we can see in the above structure there are three carbon atoms and the $-OH$ group is attached at the second carbon. Therefore, the IUPAC name of Isopropyl alcohol is $Propan-2-ol$ .

Note: In alcohols, the lower members are colourless volatile liquids which have a characteristic alcoholic odour and burning taste. Higher ones are solids. Methyl alcohols the first member of the alcohol group is a nerve poison and even its small doses cause blindness. Ethyl alcohol has a stimulant effect followed by depressant action on the central nervous system.