What are Alcohols? (Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry)

The Alcohols

Spec point — 8.1C

Alcohols

• Alcohols are colourless liquids that dissolve in water to form neutral solutions
• The first four alcohols are commonly used as fuels
• All alcohols contain the hydroxyl (-OH) functional group which is the part of alcohol molecules that is responsible for their characteristic reactions

A molecule of ethanol

Diagram of the side chain and -OH group in ethanol which characterises its chemistry

• The names and structures of the first four alcohols in the homologous series are shown below
• In terms of naming, the same system is used as for alkanes and alkenes, with the final ‘e’ being replaced with ‘ol’

Exam Hint In your exam it is acceptable to write propan-1-ol and butan-1-ol as propanol and butanol respectively.

The 1 indicates that the -OH group is located on the first carbon atom in the molecule as it is possible to have it located on a different carbon atom, but you do not need to know this for your exam.