Talk:Homologous series

Replaced Oddly Worded Para's
I have replaced the two paragraphs:

"Even while the general formulae are the same, they have different structures...",

and

"Compounds in each set have the same little group of atoms called the functional group..."

with:

"Even though the general formula remains constant in a homologous series, specific members of the series may have different structures or entirely different properties. Compounds in each series typically have a similar group of atoms called a functional group. Most chemical properties of organic compounds are due to the presence of functional groups."

I'm hoping this is more clearly worded, as the original paragraphs (esp. the first) were confusing.

Jthechemist (talk) 21:54, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Plural
"Even while the general formula are the same..." shouldn't "formula" be formulae or formulas? JohnJohn 01:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

yes it should, you could change it

No, it should not. A homologous series has only one general formula, so the singular "formula" is correct. Example: The formula CnH2n+2 can describe methane, ethane, propane, etc... Jthechemist (talk) 23:28, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Straight chain alkanes function group
Isn't the function group for the straight chain alkanes just a single carbon bond (C-C)?

FreeT (talk) 23:18, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Drawing the chains?
I would like to see a little more detail i.e. images showing the carbon chains. http://picasaweb.google.com/Igloo.minusice/Chemistry?feat=directlink (This a representation of C3H8 - Propane ) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eco impact (talk • contribs) 04:39, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Shouldn't a homologous series be a series?
The article's definition of a "holologous series" seemed too general. The word "series" implies that the members can be arranged in a single file and uniquely identified by an integer parameter. Thus a collection of compounds with shared functional group(s) (such as alkyne) or chemical properties (such as aromatic hydrocarbons) may constitute a "chemical family" or "class of homologous compounds", but not necessarily a "series". One could allow for "two-dimensional series" like the unbranched bicyclic alkanes, and so on. Still it would be inadequate to call the whole alkane family a "series", IMHO. Therefore I have trimmed the definition to the strictest concept above, and removed the following entry from the table, while this point is cleared:

--Jorge Stolfi (talk) 00:47, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

Interesting point. "Series" is indeed usually linear. But: (a) "Series" is used that way in chemistry. Wikipedia can only reflect that. Wikipedia is neither prescriptive (telling others what to do) nor authoritative (superceding experts/practitioners). (b) Non-chemists will tend to see/consider only simpler series, so they will suffer less confusion. Chemists get used to it and thus are not confused. (c) What else would you use instead of "series"? Does English even have multidimensional analogs of "series"? [No. "Mesh" and "net" do not count as they imply regularity. "Tree" fails for comparable reasons.]

2601:1C1:C180:4F40:0:0:0:452D (talk) 02:09, 13 February 2022 (UTC) A Nony Mouse

Aways CH2 unit?
An anonymous used changed "differing by a single parameter" to "having a difference in its compounds of ch2". I believe this is too restrictive; for example polyynes, cumulenes, are hmologous series too. Aren't they? --Jorge Stolfi (talk) 05:15, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
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Add some more examples
More examples of Homologous series can be added; for instance, homologous series of haloalkanes with the general formula CnH2n+1-X (where X represents Cl, Br, I), homologous series of aldehydes with the general formula CnH2nO, homologous series of ketones with the general formula CnH2nO, where n≥3, homologous series of alkyl, alkenyl, and alkynyl. It is suggested to rename it from "examples of homologous series" to "list of homologous series".

organic chemistry
what is the general formula of 1. alkane 2. alkene 3.alkyl — Preceding unsigned comment added by 105.112.227.103 (talk) 13:34, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Proposed merge of Homology (chemistry) into Homologous series
Main sense covered much better by HS article with great overlap. Secondary sense is rarely used and seem to be based on literal meaning of word. Sole source has some interesting periodic table trends though. Artoria2e5 🌉 15:15, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Support. There are lots of kinds of homology (plain-language meaning) that do not rise to the level of a discrete actual topic to merit an article. In chemistry, the "...series" term does, whereas the other does not seem to (though I'd welcome others finding refs to support!). The specific phrase helps identify its actual meaning beyond just lay-language in that field of science, so I would agree with the proposed direction of the merger. We have Homologous temperature as another chemistry-field meaning of the word, and also Homologation reaction as a specific subtopic of Homologous series. So I would redirect Homology (chemistry) to the relevant #Chemistry section of the main Homology DAB page rather than to the "...series" merge-target. DMacks (talk) 19:12, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Support per DMacks, with a post-merge retarget of Homology (chemistry) to Homology as R from incomplete disambiguation. I would keep the redirects Homolog (chemistry) and Homologue (chemistry) targeting the merged article at Homologous series. Mdewman6 (talk) 18:46, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Support. I had though of Structural analog as an alternative target for Homology (chemistry) (on the grounds that the homologue is a special case of an analogue), but on balance support the case that Homologous series is a more intuitively obvious target for it. Klbrain (talk) 21:57, 12 December 2022 (UTC)