context: The middle part of the name of the branched or iso-alkanes is determined by the longest continuous carbon chain. The chain branches are then expressed as certain functional groups, alkyls. Alkyls are simply alkanes that lack one hydrogen atom. The alkyl group and its position are indicated at the beginning of the compound name. For example, butane with one (2) carbon attached to it is called 2-methylbutane. The calculation of the longest carbon chain starts from where the functional group is the shortest distance. If there are several functional groups and there is an equal distance from each end to the first groups, the calculation starts from where the distance to the next functional group is shorter.
question: What is the difference between alkane and alkyl?
answers.text: Alkyls are simply alkanes that lack one hydrogen atom