Priority the Beautiful
By Christina Hunter (Fisher)
Sung to “America the Beautiful”
When assigning IUPAC names
Functional group priority is key
Find the highest group, attached to the largest chain
And you ready to begin
First aldehydes ending in “al” and ketones end in “o-n-e”
Then alcohols are next in line
These are top priority
Thirdly, amines, or amino as a group
Fourth, Alkenes , those are double CC bonds
Next Alkynes, triple CC bonds
Then we can’t leave out the Benzene ring
If it’s priority the name ends in benzene, if not it’s called a phenol
Next alkanes, single-bonded carbon chains
Last your halogens and ether groups
Now you know how to assign the groups
In perfect priority
Just remember to start your numbering
From the end with highest group
IUPAC naming is not that hard
When you have these things in mind
Don’t forget to separate your numbers and names
With a dash and you’ll do fine