CLASSIFYING HALOALKANES

There are a range of different haloalkanes, depending on where the halogen atom (X) is placed. For example: Draw 1-chlorobutane, 2-chlorobutane, and 2-chloro-2-methylbutane and you will find that the Cl atom has different atoms around it. If a X atom is placed on the end of a carbon chain, it is named as primary (1°). The X atom is attached to a carbon which has only one C-C bond. [image:https://i.imgur.com/fxUPnOm.gif] 2-Chlorobutane is a secondary (2°) haloalkane. The Cl atom is attached to the #2 carbon, this carbon has 2 C-C bonds. [image:https://i2.wp.com/www.ibchem.com/IB16/Section09-organic/img/structures/2-chlorobutane.gif] 2-chloro-2-methylbutane is an example of a tertiary (3°) haloalkane. The carbon that the Cl atom is attached to has 3 C-C bonds! [image:https://msfowler.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/noname01.jpg] The reason we classify haloalkanes (and alcohols) is because primary, secondary, and tertiary compounds have slightly different properties. What these properties are is not usually assessed in high school chemistry courses.