Quick question on IUPAC organic naming

[RoboNerd]

Hi everyone. I was bashing my head against this compound.

I thought that the correct name for it was 4-ethyl-1-heptanol since apparently the longest parent chain has eight carbons.

Could anyone please advise if my answer is correct, and if not, what I did wrong?

Thanks in advance

 

[Ygggdrasil]

If the longest parent chain has eight carbons, it would be octanol. Heptanol suggests seven carbons on the longest parent chain. While there are eight carbons total, the longest chain is six carbons, so the base name would be hexanol.

 

[RoboNerd]

While there are eight carbons total, the longest chain is six carbons, so the base name would be hexanol.

How is that true? I start at the beginning of the line next to the hydroxyl group. The beginning of the line, that point, where it meets the hydroxyl, I count it as one Carbon atom {I need to have C-OH}. Then, I move up through the lines, counting each "bump" as a single atom. I continue on towards the last point of the line towards the top-right... which would make me count seven points total, not 6

 

[Ygggdrasil]

The line next to the hydroxyl group represents a C-O bond with an oxygen atom at one end and a carbon atom at the other end.

 

[RoboNerd]

Ahh ok. Thanks a lot for clearing that up!