Question

What functional group characterizes an alcohol? What ending is added to the name of the parent hydrocarbon to show that a molecule is an alcohol?

Short answer

The functional group characterizing an alcohol is the hydroxyl (OH) group. The ending "-ol" is added to the name of the parent hydrocarbon to indicate that the molecule is an alcohol.

Step-by-step solution

Identifying the functional group of an alcohol

An alcohol is an organic compound with a hydroxyl (OH) functional group bound to a carbon atom. The general formula for an alcohol is R-OH, where R represents the organic group (alkyl or aryl) attached to the hydroxyl group.

Determining the ending for the parent hydrocarbon's name

To name an alcohol, the ending of the parent hydrocarbon is changed to indicate the presence of the hydroxyl group. The suffix "-ol" is added to the parent hydrocarbon name to show that the molecule is an alcohol. For instance, if the parent hydrocarbon is methane (CH₄), the alcohol derived from methane would be methanol (CH₃OH). Similarly, if the parent hydrocarbon is ethane (C₂H₆), the alcohol derived from ethane would be ethanol (C₂H₅OH). In summary, the functional group that characterizes an alcohol is the hydroxyl group (OH), and the ending "-ol" is added to the name of the parent hydrocarbon to show that a molecule is an alcohol.