Why are systematic names preferred over common names?

Common names don't provide info about the chemical composition of the compound.

Explanation:

With the development of organic chemistry in the 19th century, the number of known organic compounds also increased progressively and there was a need for a systematic method to name them. It was decided that it would be better to use systematic names because common names do not provide information on the chemical composition of the compound.

Let's take the names of alkanes as an example: their nomenclature is directly related to the number of carbon atoms in the chain. Except for the first four compounds (methane, ethane, propane and butane), whose names have historical roots, the alkane nomenclature is based on the Greek numbers. The suffix "year" is added to the end of each name to identify the molecule as an alkane. Thus, pentane is an alkane with five carbon atoms, hexane is an alkane with six carbon atoms, and so on. Alkanes form the basis of nomenclature for all other organic compounds. Therefore, the names of the first ten alkanes are memorized by employment.