Organic and
Biochemistry ! ! !
1. Hydrocarbons
 Carbon atom—up to 4 bonds
 Hydrogen atom—forms 1 bond
 Molecules comprised of carbon and hydrogen
 Carbon and hydrogen bonds can form chains,
branches, or ring structures
 Ex. Glucose, amino acid, octane
a) Alkanes
 Simplest organic compounds
 All single C-bonds
 Saturated hydrocarbons
 Nonpolar, insoluble in water
 Seen with combustion reactions
b) Alkenes/Alkynes
 One or more carbon double bonds (alkenes)
 Nonpolar, unsaturated due to double bonds
 pi (π) bonds present—increase reactivity of molecule
 One or more carbon triple bonds (alkynes)
Aromatic Compounds
 Organic molecule with a ring structure
 6-C based ring structure, backbone to many organic
compounds
 Related to benzene (C6H6)
 Conjugated bonding system
 Structure with alternating double/single bonds of carbon
2. Functional Groups
 Atom/groups of atoms hanging off a hydrocarbon chain
or ring structure
 Gives chemical compound its unique properties, part of
compound participating in chemical reaction.
 Compounds with same functional group—similar
chemical properties.
More on Functional Groups
 Polar
 Usually contain 2 types of sites
 Electron-rich, Electrophiles (+ ions) attracted to this site
 Electron-poor, Nucleophiles (- ions) attracted to this site
a) Alcohols
 Identified by the presence of a hydroxyl group(--OH)
 Hydrocarbon with an –OH hanging off
 Can act as a base
 Goes through dehydration reactions
 Removal of H and OH to form H2O
 General formula: R—OH
 R = hydrocarbon
Ex. 1 methane --- methanol (CH3OH)
Ex. 2 ethane --- ethanol (CH3CH2OH)
b) Ethers
 General Formula: R-O-R’
 Formed from alcohols
 2 hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen
c) Aldehydes
 General structure: RCHO
 Formed through alcohol oxidation/redox reaction
 Ex. Formaldehyde, vanilla flavor/vanillin
d) Ketones
 Formed through alcohol oxidation
 General structure: RCOR, carbonyl carbon in between
2 hydrocarbons
 Ex. Acetone, Irone
 Carbonyl group is active part of aldehydes and
ketones.
e) Carboxylic Acids
 Identified by the presence of a carboxyl group (-COOH)
 Gives acidic properties to organic compounds
 Forms esters and amides
 Generic formula: R—COOH
 Ex. 1 Methanoic acid/formic acid
 Ex. 2 Ethanoic acid/acetic acid
f) Ester
 Formed from alcohol and carboxylic acid molecules
 Water eliminated
 General formula: RCOOR
 Carboxylic acid between hydrocarbons
 Main reactions are hydrolysis
 Add water, convert back to alcohol and carboxylic acids
g) Amides
 Formed from carboxylic and ammonia (NH3) or
carboxylic acid and amine
 General formula: RCONH2
 Main Reaction—hydrolysis
 Main functional group in proteins
Isomers
 Chemical compounds with the SAME molecular
formula but DIFFERENT structure/arrangement
 Different compounds
 Many molecular formulas have several different
structural arrangements.
 Few—assign prefixes
 Many—use systematic naming system
Homework