ORGANIC CHEMISTRY BASICS

General Chemistry

Properties of Carbon

Carbon is a non-metal Carbon has 4 valence electrons. Carbon can form up to 4 bonds. The Lewis Dot Structure for carbon shows

how carbon can form these 4 bonds.

Prefixes for Carbon Compounds

Meth – 1 carbon Eth – 2 carbons Prop – 3 carbons But – 4 carbons Pent – 5 carbons Hex – 6 carbons Hept – 7 carbons Oct – 8 carbons Non – 9 carbons Dec – 10 carbons

Types of Organic Compounds

Hydrocarbons – contains the elements, hydrogen and carbon

Carbohydrates – contains the elements, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen

Complex polymers Biological molecules

Hydrocarbons

Three basic hydrocarbons Alkanes – single bonds between carbon atoms Alkenes – double bonds between carbons

atoms Alkynes – triple bonds between carbon atoms

Examples: C-C is ethane C=C is ethene C= C is ethyne

Petrochemicals

Petrochemicals contain hydrocarbons. Propane, butane, and octane are some of the

most common. Propane is a single chained carbon molecule

with 3 carbon atoms Butane is a single chained carbon molecule

with 4 carbon atoms. Octane is a single chained carbon molecule

with 8 carbon atoms

Identification of Carbon Chains

Draw a Lewis Dot of the molecule. Identify the number of hydrogen atoms

and attach as appropriate. Spread evenly.

Keep functional groups and carbon/hydrogen groupings together.

Name the compound based on Functional Groups.

Functional Groups

Functional Groups Continued

Name and Draw the Following Compounds

CH4 methane

C2H6 ethane

C2H4 ethene

C2H2 ethyne

CH3CH2OH ethanol CH2O formaldehyde C6H6 benzene

CH3COOH acetic acid (ethanoic acid)

Draw Shape Using Lewis Dot

Saturated vs. Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

Saturated – a molecule whose carbon atoms bond to the maximum number of hydrogen atoms

Unsaturated – a molecule that contains a carbon-carbon multiple bond, to which more hydrogen atoms can be added

Alkanes are typically saturated.Alkenes and alkynes are unsaturated due to their multiple bonds.

Carbohydrates

Composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Examples: Sucrose Glucose

Polymers

Polymers are created when small molecules link together in repetitive subunits.

Polymers can be natural or synthetic (human-made)

Natural polymers: proteins and nucleic acids

Synthetic polymers: polythene, nylon, and Kevlar

Common pharmaceuticals such as aspirin, vitamins, and insulin are organic.

Natural Polymers

Proteins – large biological molecule made of many amino acids linked together though amide (peptide) bonds

Peptide – an amide bond that links two amino acids together

DNA RNA Amino Acids – a molecule that contains

both an amino group and a carboxylic acid functional group.

Synthetic Polymers

Nylon– a large molecule that is made of repeating units containing polyamide (nitrogen containing functional group)

Kevlar – see reading Plastics – compounds formed from

petrochemicals which consist of long chains. The stronger the plastic the more layering of these long chains. Why are bottles for soda, much stronger than

those of water?