Do double bonds or triple bonds get higher priority when naming compounds?

Question

For example, if I have a molecule with a triple and a double bond, which would have priority for a low number with IUPAC naming?

Answer 1

Hi Claudia, this is a fairly common problem that students encounter in the course because it is not as straightforward as it seems. Based on the current IUPAC recommendations, the ending suffixes will be arranged as ene-yne, aka ene before yne, however, the numbering priority goes to an alkene (double bond). For instance 3,9,9-Trimethyl-4-undecen-7-yne (try to build this molecule from the name).