20.9 Disubstituted Benzene Derivatives
20.9.1 Ortho, Meta, Para
When two groups are attached to a benzene ring, there is a common way to name them using the prefixes ortho, meta, and para. The way to remember the order of the prefixes is to remember “ROMP”. Let’s look at a generic R group on a phenyl ring. The carbon atom attached to the R group is called the ipso carbon atom. The carbon atom next door to the R group, the 2nd carbon atom, is the ortho carbon atom. The 3rd carbon atom is meta, and the 4th carbon atom is para. This spells “ROMP” around the ring.


There are some common disubstituted benzenes that you should know, toluic acid, cresol, and xylene.

20.9.2 Benzene groups as substituents
Benzene rings groups can be named as substituents. A benzene ring attachment is called a phenyl group. A group with a CH2 followed by a benzene is called a benzyl group.

8. Name the following compounds using the common prefix (ortho, meta, para) when appropriate.








