what is alkyl group

An alkyl group is a functional group in organic chemistry that is formed by removing one hydrogen atom from an alkane molecule/03%3A_Organic_Compounds-_Alkanes_and_Their_Stereochemistry/3.03%3A_Alkyl_Groups). The term "alkyl" is intentionally unspecific to include many possible substitutions. The general formula for an acyclic alkyl group is CnH2n+1, where n is the number of carbon atoms in the chain. A cycloalkyl group is derived from a cycloalkane by removing a hydrogen atom from a ring and has the general formula −CnH2n−1. The smallest alkyl group is methyl, with the formula −CH3. In structural formulae, the symbol R is used to designate a generic (unspecified) alkyl group. Alkyl groups can be classified as primary, secondary, tertiary, or quaternary based on the number of carbon atoms bonded to the carbon atom that is attached to the rest of the molecule/03%3A_Organic_Compounds-_Alkanes_and_Their_Stereochemistry/3.03%3A_Alkyl_Groups).