Alkyl groups form homologous series. The simplest series have the general formula . Alkyls include methyl, (), ethyl (), propyl (), butyl (), pentyl (), and so on. Alkyl groups that contain one ring have the formula , e.g. cyclopropyl and cyclohexyl. The formula of alkyl radicals are the same as alkyl groups, except the free valence "" is replaced by the dot "•" and adding "radical" to the name of the alkyl group (e.g. methyl radical ).
The naming convention is taken from IUPAC nomenclature:
The prefixes taken from IUPAC nomenclature are used to name branched chained structures by their substituent groups, for example 3-methylpentane:
The structure of 3-methylpentane is viewed as consisting of two parts. First, five atoms comprise the longest straight chain of carbon centers. The parent five-carbon compound is named pentane (highlighted blue). The methyl "substituent" or "group" is highlighted red. According to the usual rules of nomenclature, alkyl groups are included in the name of the molecule before the root, as in methylpentane. This name is, however, ambiguous, as the methyl branch could be on various carbon atoms. Thus, the name is 3-methylpentane to avoid ambiguity: The 3- is because the methyl is attached to the third of the five carbon atoms.
If there is more than one of the same alkyl group attached to a chain, then the prefixes are used on the alkyl groups to indicate multiples (i.e., di, tri, tetra, etc.)
This compound is known as 2,3,3-trimethylpentane. Here three identical alkyl groups attached to carbon atoms 2, 3, and 3. The numbers are included in the name to avoid ambiguity about the position of the groups, and "tri" indicates that there are three identical methyl groups. If one of the methyl groups attached to the third carbon atom were instead an ethyl group, then the name would be 3-ethyl-2,3-dimethylpentane. When there are different alkyl groups, they are listed in alphabetical order.
In addition, each position on an alkyl chain can be described according to how many other carbon atoms are attached to it. The terms primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary refer to a carbon attached to one, two, three, or four other carbons respectively.