Isomerism of alkanes

At the end of this activity, students should be able to:
– define the terms isomerism and isomers
– explain what alkyl groups are and give the names of alkyl groups corresponding to individual members of the homologous series of alkanes
– name simple isomers of straight chain alkanes that have one substituent or several substituents of the same type, and isomers that have different substituents
– explain why straight chain alkanes are characterised by higher boiling and melting points than their branched isomers.