Alcohols are commonly identified by their -oh hydroxyl group. however, what is the proper nomenclature when it is part of a compound? surely not every compound with a hydroxyl group is an alcohol. but, is the hydroxyl group itself considered an alcohol? or is it considered just a hydroxyl group? basically, when would you consider the -oh to be an alcohol compared to just being a plain ol' hydroxyl group? does it have to do with whether or not it forms aldehyde when it is oxidized?

I’m not too sure your question but an example of when seeing an -OH group wouldn’t mean it’s an alcohol is when you see a c double bonded to an O and then a single bond off the same C to and OH group which indicates a carboxylic acid rather than an alcohol. If your adding a halogen for example making it 1, chloro propan-3-ol in that case it’s still acting as an alcohol. Most of the time an OH group indicates an alcohol unless it’s a carboxylic axis as explained above. Hope this helps !

8 carbon atoms forming single bonds with 18 hydrogen atoms; a triple bond exists between the third and fourth carbon atom from the right

explanation: