[sapta]

what is the name of CH₃OCH₂CH₃?

a. 2-oxapropane
b. 2-oxabutane
c. 2-oxobutane

what nomenclature is this? ???It should be methoxyethane,right?

[AWK]

http://www.acdlabs.com/iupac/nomenclature/93/r93_430.htm

[sapta]

great link so it's 2-oxabutane,right? But tell me,is this IUPAC nomenclature?I mean,what would I do if I am asked to give the IUPAC name of CH₃OCH₂CH₃ with no options given?
Till now I thought it would be methoxy ethane.

[AWK]

IUPAC basic nomenclature is according to functional class names, ie: ethyl methyl ether,
 but also substitutive and replacement names are acceptable

[sapta]

IUPAC basic nomenclature is according to functional class names, ie: ethyl methyl ether,
 but also substitutive and replacement names are acceptable

ethyl methyl ether is also an IUPAC name? but my books say it is the general name or something like that and the IUPAC name is methoxy ethane 

[AWK]

see my link above - it is IUPAC document.

[wereworm73]

How could it possibly be a butane if it only has 3 carbons?

[Donaldson Tan]

wierd question. I would call it ethoxymethane or methoxyethane or ethyl methyl ether.

[sapta]

How could it possibly be a butane if it only has 3 carbons?

that's the same thing I thought But as you can see from the link given by AWK,this is also a valid way of nomenclature,probably the latest.What I want to know is whether it is the most accepted now.For example,what would the answer to this question-

what is the IUPAC name of CH₃CH₂OCH₂CH₃?

A.Ethoxy ethane
B.Di ethyl ether
C.3-oxapentane
D.Methoxy butane

This question is given in a book.the first three options are all correct.So,which one is wanted?

[Albert]

IUPAC?

Ethoxyethane 

[sapta]

IUPAC?

Ethoxyethane 

Are you sure?Ethoxyethane is surely an IUPAC name.But according to AWK,all the first three options are IUPAC names.Diethyl ether is not considered an IUPAC name in our books,so we can put that aside.But what about 3-oxapentane?

[lemonoman]

Ethoxyethane is an IUPAC name (R.5.5.4.1)
Diethyl ether is an IUPAC name (R.5.5.4.2)
3-oxapentane is an IUPAC name (R.5.5.4.3)

what is the IUPAC name of CH₃CH₂OCH₂CH₃?

A.Ethoxy ethane
B.Di ethyl ether
C.3-oxapentane
D.Methoxy butane

This question is given in a book.the first three options are all correct.So,which one is wanted?

If the question is EXACTLY as you typed it, then only C is the right answer.  "Ethoxy ethane" should NOT have a space in it and "Di ethyl ether" should only have ONE space in it.

If the options are exactly as I typed them above, then A, B and C are all acceptable.

D is just plain wrong.

[xiankai]

sheesh... sounds like nit-picking on spelling 

[lemonoman]

sheesh... sounds like nit-picking on spelling 

I don't mean to be a jerk, so sorry if it sounded that way.

I just figured that when there are three seemingly 'right' answers, there must be a trick stuck in somewhere.

[mike]

sheesh... sounds like nit-picking on spelling 

Sounds more like good attention to detail to me.