[mdawg467]

Hey guys,

I need some help naming this compound:



I named it as 3-ethyl-7-isoproyl-5,9-dimethyldecane, however my solutions manual says it is 8-ethyl-4-isopropyl-2,6-dimethyldecane.

It seems as they started on the opposite side of the chain (from right to left)..does this matter? Would the name I gave be correct?

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: I think I know what I did wrong, I forgot about the rule regarding substituents..which is to always assign the first substituent with the lower number

[Fluorine]

Correct, you figured it out.

For an alkane;
1) find the parent molecule (longest continuous chain)
2) find the first substitute
3) begin numbering from this side of the parent
4) put into alphabetical order

On a side note though, shouldn't it be 8-ethyl-2,6-dimethyl-4-isopropyldecane or am I incorrect recalling that prefixes (iso, sec, tert) do not get involved in the order? The correct answer above follows ethyl, isopropyl, methyl not ethyl, methyl, isopropyl alphabetic order.