There are three ways alkyl halides can be named. They are all correct naming conventions, and the compounds may be listed under any one of the possibilities. When researching yhe compounds in reference books, you may have to look under the alternate names to find information on the compound. The first naming convention is the one in which the radical is named first, the “ine” is dropped from the halogen, and an “ide” ending is added. For example, if the compound has one carbon, the radical for one carbon is methyl. If there is chlorine attached to the methyl radical, the alkyl halide compound is named methyl chloride. The structure, molecular formula, and names for it are shown in Figure 8.6.