ABSTRACT
Benzene was identified as a special type of hydrocarbon in Section 5.12. This chapter will discuss why benzene is a special hydrocarbon. It will also discuss derivatives that are formed by replacing the hydrogen atoms of benzene with substituents and/or functional groups. ere are hydrocarbons related to benzene that have two, three, or more rings fused together (polycyclic compounds). e unifying concept of all these molecules is that they are aromatic, which means that they are especially stable with respect to their bonding and structure. e discussion will start with benzene.
