IUPAC nomenclature

jadelamlam

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data
Give the IUPAC name of the following compound

ＯＨ　　Cl
｜　　　｜
Ｃ－Ｃ－Ｃ－Ｃ
　　｜
　　ＯＨ
(Note:Hydrogen atoms are not drawn)


2. Relevant equations



3. The attempt at a solution
Model answer:3-chlorobutane-1,2-diol
Why it is called 3-chlorobutane-1,2-diol instead of 3-chlorobutan-1,2-diol?
Consider CH3CH2CH2OH,it is propan-2-ol,where "e" from "propane" is dropped.
So e from 3-chlorobutane-1,2-diol should also be deleted?

sjb-2812

Aside from the fact that CH₃CH₂CH₂OH is propan-1-ol, I have seen both names with an e on the end and not. Sometimes it's a language thing - German for instance tends not to have them. Is this the case here?

Pranav-Arora

It's a convention while naming the compounds. For instance, in propan-2-ol, the 'e' is dropped because there's a vowel next to 'e', that is 'o'. If it was a consonant, we would not have dropped the 'e' as it is the case with 3-chlorobutane-1,2-diol as 'd' isn't a vowel.

jadelamlam

Thx a lot.But do you know the reasons of it?

sjb-2812

Ahh, of course, thanks Pranav-Arora. As to why, it's probably along the lines of making things easier to say, with elided vowels etc