Functional group

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In ecology '''functional groups''' are collections of organisms based on morphological, physiological, behavioral, biochemical, or environmental responses or on trophic criteria.

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In organic chemistry '''functional groups''' are submolecular structural motifs, characterized by specific elemental composition and connectivity, that confer reactivity upon the molecule that contains them. The following is a list of common functional groups. In the formulas, the symbols R and R' denote any group of atoms.

Chemical class	Group	Formula	Prefix	Suffix
Alcohol	Hydroxyl	R−OH	hydroxy-	-ol
Alkanes	Methyl	R−CH3	methyl- (''similarly for higher alkyl substituents:'' ethyl, propyl, butyl, ''etc.'')
Alkenes	Alkene	R−CH=CH−R'	''convert the part substituting for '''alk''' in the name of the'' alkane ''into the '''alk''' of the word'' alkene: '''eth'''ane/'''eth'''ene, '''prop'''ane/'''prop'''ene, '''but'''ane/'''but'''ene, ''etc.''	-ene
Alkynes	Alkyne	R−CC−R'	''convert the part substituting for '''alk''' in the name of the'' alkane ''into the '''alk''' of the word'' alkyne: '''eth'''ane/'''eth'''yne, '''prop'''ane/'''prop'''yne, '''but'''ane/'''but'''yne, ''etc.''	-yne
Amide	Amide	R−C(=O)N(−H)−R'	''name according to the parent amine and acid, respectively:'' '''alkyl alkanamide'''
Amines	primary Amine	R−NH2	amino-	-amine
	secondary Amine	R−N(−H)−R'	amino-	-amine
	tertiary Amine	R−N(−R')−R	amino-	-amine
Azo	Azo	R-N=N-R'
	Nitrile	R−C≡N	'''alkyl nitrile'''
	Pyridyl	R−C5H4N
Carboxylic acid	Carboxyl	R−C(=O)OH ''non-ionized'' R−C(=O)O− ''ionized''	hydrocarboxy-	-oic acid
Carbonyl	Aldehyde	R−C(=O)H		-al
	Ketone	R−C(=O)−R'	keto-	-one
Imines	primary Imine	R−C(=NH)−R'	imino-	-imine
	secondary Imine	R−C(−H)=N−R'	imino-	-imine
Ether	Ether	R−O−R'	''named according to the parent alcohols, respectively:'' '''alkylalkylether'''
Ester	Ester	R−C(=O)O−R'	''named according to the parent alcohol and acid, respectively:'' '''alkyl alkanoate'''
Halogens	Halogen	F,Cl,Br,etc.
Isocyantes	Isocyanate	R−N=C=O	'''alkyl isocyanate'''
	Isothiocyanate	R−N=C=S	'''alkyl isothiocyanate'''
Phenyl	Phenyl	R−C6H5
	Phosphodiester	R−OP(=O)2O−R'
Thiol	Thiol group	R−SH		-thiol
	Thioether	R−S−R'

Combining the names of functional groups with the names of the parent alkanes generates a powerful systematic nomenclature for naming organic compounds. The non-hydrogen atoms of functional groups are always associated with each other and with the rest of the molecule by covalent bonds. When the group of atoms is associated with the rest of the molecule primarily by ionic forces, the group is referred to more properly as a polyatomic ion or complex ion. And all of these are called radicals, by a meaning of the term ''radical'' that predates the free radical. The first carbon after the carbon that attaches to the functional group is called the alpha carbon. de:Funktionelle Gruppe es:Grupo funcional nl:Functionele groep pl:Grupa funkcyjna