In chemistry, an alcohol is found in the hydroxyl functional group (-OH) and is bonded to a carbon atom. Specifically, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds with three other atoms. The important alcohols are the simple acyclic alcohols. Of these, ethanol (C2H5OH) is the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, and in common parlance the word alcohol refers specifically to ethanol. When it comes to alcoholic reactions, the functional group of alcohols is the hydroxyl group –OH. Unlike alkyl halides, this group has two reactive covalent bonds, the C–O bond and the O–H bond. The electronegativity of oxygen is greater than that of carbon and hydrogen. The covalent bonds of this functional group are polarized so that oxygen is electron-rich and both carbon and hydrogen are electrophilic. The dipolar nature of the OH bond is such that alcohols are stronger acids than alkanes and almost as much stronger than ethers, the oxygen-substituted alkanes that do not have an OH group. The most reactive site in an alcohol molecule is the hydroxyl group, despite the fact that the strength of the O–H bond is significantly greater than that of the C–C, C–H, and C–O bonds, showing the difference between thermodynamic and chemical stability (Chemistry). Here too, the same method used for alkanes is used to name alcohols. To determine the parent chain, the parent chain must be the longest that includes the carbon containing the OH group. The second step in naming alcohols would be to number them by the end closest to the -OH group regardless of where the alkyl substituents are located. The third step in naming alcohols would be the branch position, the branch name, the OH group positions, and then the parent chain. Then the final s...... middle of the paper ......l, and 2 propanol. Every type of alcohol has a use, whether it's fueling our vehicle, smelling good, or cleaning things, they're all very important to us. Methanol is an alcohol name that we have all come to know thanks to our vehicles. Nowadays there are cars that can run mainly on ethanol and it is cheaper than gasoline in price. Even when we are pouring gasoline into our car there are labels that say that the gasoline used may contain up to ten percent ethanol. Naming spirits requires a good amount of steps and when they are changed and differences are made a new type of alcohol can be created. Naming alcohol isn't something all of us will have the knowledge to do, but it's nice to know that you fall into that percentage too. Alcohol is very important to our economy and to many other things that we may not even know we are consuming.