Introduction to Organic Chemistry
Use this landing page to move quickly between the main introductory organic chemistry revision pages for Edexcel A Level Chemistry Topic 6. Each card links to a focused page covering organic nomenclature, isomerism and the key functional groups students need to recognise before studying organic reactions in more detail.
Choose an Introduction to Organic Chemistry Page
Organic chemistry begins with recognising carbon-based molecules, naming structures accurately, identifying isomerism and recognising functional groups. These pages separate the core naming rules, isomerism and common functional groups so that students can revise each area clearly before applying them to reactions, mechanisms and synthesis.
Key idea: The functional group controls the chemical behaviour of an organic molecule. Naming rules help you communicate the carbon chain, substituents and functional group position precisely.
IUPAC Rules
Revise how to name organic compounds by identifying the longest carbon chain, functional group, substituents and position numbers.
Alkene
Learn how alkenes are identified by the carbon-carbon double bond and why this functional group leads to addition reactions.
Alcohol
Revise alcohols as organic compounds containing the hydroxyl group and connect their structure to naming and classification.
Halogenoalkanes
Review halogenoalkanes as compounds containing a carbon-halogen bond, including how halogen substituents appear in names.
Aldehyde
Learn how aldehydes contain a terminal carbonyl group and how this affects naming and structural formulae.
Ketone
Revise ketones as carbonyl compounds where the C=O group is within the carbon chain rather than at the end.
Carboxylic Acid
Review carboxylic acids as compounds containing the carboxyl group, including the COOH structure and acid naming pattern.
Ester
Learn how esters are recognised from the COO linkage and how their names are built from the alcohol and carboxylic acid parts.
Isomerism
Revise how compounds can have the same molecular formula but different arrangements of atoms, including structural and stereoisomerism.
How to Use These Pages
Start with the IUPAC rules page to secure the naming system. Then move through alkenes, alcohols, halogenoalkanes and the carbonyl-containing families before consolidating with isomerism. For each page, practise drawing displayed formulae, identifying functional groups and naming simple examples.
Exam focus: Be able to recognise functional groups from structural formulae, give the correct family name, apply IUPAC naming rules and distinguish structural isomerism from stereoisomerism.
Master Topic 6A/6B Organic Chemistry and Alkanes for Edexcel A Level Chemistry
Continue from these free revision notes into the full Topic 6A/6B Organic Chemistry and Alkanes course for Edexcel A Level Chemistry Paper 2 (9CH0/02), with guided video teaching, diagnostic MCQ practice, teacher-marked short-answer questions and a specification assignment with a personalised progress report.
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Submit written exam responses and receive chemistry specialist feedback with improvement guidance.
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Identify strengths and weaknesses across the full Topic 6A/6B specification with targeted reporting.
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Some ionic radii are shown.
| Ion | Ionic radius / nm |
|---|---|
| Na+ | 0.102 |
| K+ | 0.138 |
| F− | 0.133 |
| Cl− | 0.180 |
Which compound has the strongest ionic bonding?
Explain why the metallic bonding in magnesium is much stronger than that in sodium.
Copyright notice: This revision page, including its written explanations, layout and teaching sequence, is produced for Online Learning System by Dr. Mohammed Al-Fatah. It is intended for student revision and may not be copied, redistributed or republished without permission.