Relation to Syllabus

This information is to give the user of this trail an idea about the aims of the trail and appropriate activities to supplement the material presented here.

This is not a section of the NSW HSC Chemistry (Stage 6) syllabus, but is written in the style of the syllabus by the KCPC researchers responsible for the development of this trail.

Nomenclature Module

Contextual Outline

Chemists working in industry and acadaemia rely on being able to communicate their results with each other. While drawing structures is one way of communicating this information, it is difficult to match structures in computer databases. Structures also take up a lot of room in printed publications whereas text names do not.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) has developed a system of systematic naming (nomenclature). This systematic nomenclature incorportates some of the old common or trivial names for individual molecules, while most molecules are named according to the set of rules that for the nomenclature system.

A basic understanding of systematic nomenclature is an important part of appreciating organic chemistry.
Students learn to:
•	appreciate the need for systematic nomenclature to be used for the vast array of organic compounds
•	identify the features of a molecule that make it an alkane, alkene or alkyne, and name straight chain alkanes and alkenes with up to twelve carbons
•	identify that most molecules are branched and that branches are named and numbered
•	explain that the orientation of groups around a double bond is significant and identify cis and trans isomers
•	explain that within the class of organic molecules there are different functional groups that give the moledules different properties
•	identify that some molecules cannot and should not be named using systematic nomenclature and that trivial names are preferable for these molecules
Students:
•	analyse information from secondary sources such as molecular model kits to indentify the stiffness of carbon-carbon double bonds
•	gather, process and present information from secondary sources to identify a range of commonly used chemicals that are used or traded under trivial names rather than systematic names
•	solve problems regarding the systematic naming of small molecules (up to 12 carbons) including the alkene, halide, alcohol, ether, amine, carboxylic acid and ester functionalities.