What is the systematic name for this compound?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Start by identifying the base carbon chain in the structure. The long continuous chain contains seven carbon atoms, which corresponds to heptane as the parent hydrocarbon.

Next, locate the substituents (methyl groups) and their positions on the main chain. There are two methyl groups attached at adjacent carbon atoms, which would be at carbon 2 and carbon 3 along the seven-carbon chain.

Now evaluate each option:
- Option 1: 5,6-dimethyloctane. This naming implies an eight-carbon (octane) main chain with methyl substituents at positions 5 and 6. The pictured molecule does not have an octane backbone, and the substituents are not at 5 and 6, so this is incorrect.
- Option 2: 2,3-dimethylhexane. This would require a six-carbon (hexane) main chain. The image shows a seven-carbon chain, so this cannot be right.
- Option 3: 5,6-dimethylheptane. Although this uses the correct heptane base, the substituents at 5 and 6 do not match the actual placement in the structure, where the methyl groups are on the second and third carbons.
- Option 4: 2-methyl-3-methylheptane. While it describes two methyl substituents on a heptane, the proper IUPAC convention would combine them as a single descriptor with two numbers (2,3-dimethyl) rather than listing each methyl separately as 2-methyl and 3-methyl, so this is not the preferred systematic form.
- Option 5: 2,3-dimethylheptane. This naming correctly identifies a seven-carbon backbone with two methyl substituents at positions 2 and 3, using proper IUPAC punctuation and ordering. It also matches the apparent substitution pattern on the drawn molecule.

Based on these checks, the option that accurately represents the structure with the correct parent chain and substituent positions is 2,3-dimethylheptane.

What is the systematic name for this compound?

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