ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Preferred IUPAC name

Okay, so when we talk about chemicals, they can have different names depending on who is talking about them. This can be confusing because we want to make sure we all understand which chemical we are talking about.

To help with this, there is a group of scientists who come up with a special name for each chemical. This name is called the preferred IUPAC name. IUPAC means International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry - it's a group of scientists who work around the world to make sure we are all using the same names for chemicals.

The preferred IUPAC name is like a special nickname for each chemical. It's a name that everyone agrees on, so if we're talking about a certain chemical, we can use its preferred IUPAC name to make sure we are all talking about the same thing.

Sometimes chemicals can have more than one name, but the preferred IUPAC name is the one that we should use to avoid confusion. It's like when your friends have nicknames, but you only call them by their real name when you want to make sure they know you're talking to them.

So, the preferred IUPAC name is a special name for chemicals that all scientists agree on, it helps us avoid confusion when we talk about chemicals, and it's like a nickname for each chemical.