What does “numbering carbons” mean in the context of organic chemistry?
This is a technique used in organic chemistry to identify the exact structure of a compound. There are many rules how to do this which are defined by IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) Often you will see a questioin: “what is the correct IUPAC name for the following product?”. To illustrate: Say you have heptane, which is a seven carbon alkane chain. You now replace one of the H on the structure with a halogen, say Br. You have now made bromoheptane. The problem arises that you can have the Br as a replacement for an H on any one of the carbons. The chemical properties of organic molecules is very dependant on its structure so it is essential to define the molecule structure exactly. By convention, the carbon chain is numbered C1, C2, C3 etc from the left. If the Br is attached to the C1, then it is called 1-bromoheptane. If on C2, 2-bromoheptane etc. BUT, there are some important rules to follow. IUPAC requires that the lowest possible number be used. You can pl
