Names created according to substitutive nomenclature may also include fragments named in accordance with other nomenclature types or operations. A systematic name is based on the name of the most senior parent compound (Section 6) in which the substitution of hydrogen atoms is represented by a suffix for the principal characteristic group(s), prefixes representing less senior characteristic groups and other substituent groups, and locants that specify their locations. For naming purposes, a chemical compound is treated as a combination of a parent compound (Section 5) and characteristic (functional) groups, one of which is designated the principal characteristic group (Section 4). It is used mainly for compounds of carbon and elements of Groups 13–17.

Substitutive nomenclature is the main method for naming organic-chemical compounds.

The new edition of the Blue Book incorporates a hierarchical set of criteria for choosing the single name which is to be preferred for regulatory purposes, the Preferred IUPAC Name, or PIN. styrene, urea) are also used within systematic nomenclature. It should be noted that many compounds may have non-systematic or semi-systematic names and IUPAC rules also allow for more than one systematic name in many cases. Comprehensive detail can be found in Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, colloquially known as the Blue Book, and in the related publications for inorganic compounds (the Red Book), and polymers (the Purple Book). An overall summary of chemical nomenclature can be found in Principles of Chemical Nomenclature. There are companion documents on the nomenclature of inorganic and polymer chemistry, with hyperlinks to original documents. The basics of organic nomenclature are summarized here. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) provides recommendations on many aspects of nomenclature. The universal adoption of an agreed nomenclature is a key tool for efficient communication in the chemical sciences, in industry, and for regulations associated with import/export or health and safety.

Organic chemistry iupac naming quiz