Chemistry
Name:________________________
Introduction to Organic Chemistry
Date:__________________
Organic compounds contain carbon atoms, inorganic compounds don’t
Organic chemistry:

takes a look at what composes the living things, and how they’re structured.

breaks down living things not only into organs seen in organisms, but goes a step further to
break down those organs into atoms and molecules.

focuses mainly on carbon, particularly hydrocarbons, which are molecules composed of
hydrogen and carbon.
Many things are made of hydrocarbons:

DNA
natural

Peptides, proteins and enzymes
natural

Rubber
natural

Plastics
synthetic (man made)

Fuel
synthetic (man made)

Pharmaceuticals
synthetic (man made)

Cosmetics
synthetic (man made)

Coatings
synthetic (man made)

Dyes
synthetic (man made)

Agrochemicals
synthetic (man made)

Biochemicals
natural

Medicines
synthetic (man made)

Detergents
synthetic (man made)

High tech materials
synthetic (man made)
generally composed of long carbon chains displaying covalent bonds.
C can make 4 bonds, H can make 1
Draw the line structure:
1
Saturated compounds (alkanes) contain only single bonds between carbon atoms.
Unsaturated compounds (alkenes and alkynes) are compounds that double (alkenes) or triple
(alkynes) bonds between one or more of the carbon atoms.
Aromatic Compounds are carbon compounds that are in a ring structure.
Label the following structures:
saturated
unsaturated
aromatic (unsaturated)
benzene: a highly flammable liquid that contributes to the production of many types of plastic
(including rubber)
2
Saturated and Unsaturated Fats

Both are long carbon chains with a HO-C=O on the end

Saturated (found in animal fat) means there are no double bonds between carbons.

Considered to be less healthy then natural unsaturated fats (olive oil, corn oil)

The trans unsaturated fats are not naturally occurring and are considered extremely
difficult to digest
Nomenclature:
The rules for nomenclature for hydrocarbons consist of a stem that is used for all organic
compounds followed by different endings which indicate whether the compound is an alkane, alkene
or an alkyne
number of
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
meth-
eth-
prop-
but-
pent-
hex-
hept-
oct-
non-
dec-
carbons
stem
Monkeys Eat Peeled Bananas
The endings are determined by the number of attached hydrogen atoms (or other
elements/compounds that are attached). The general formula for each group is given below. Please
note that the “n” is not the number of moles but rather the number of atoms in the formula.
group
formula
Types of bonds
alkanes
CnH2n + 2
All single bonds
alkenes
CnH2n if they contain 1 double bond
alkynes
CnH2n – 2 if they contain 1 triple bond
Example: ethane
C2H6
3
Try to write the formula of the following:
propane
C3H8
butane
C4H10
octane
C8H18
1-pentene
C5H10
2- heptyne
C7H12
Organic Functional Groups
4
Alcohols
Alcohols are compounds containing the hydroxyl group, which is –OH. The most simple alcohol is
methyl alcohol. The formula for methyl alcohol (also known as methanol) is CH 3OH. The structure
for methanol is as follows:
This is the most simple of the alcohols, since it contains only one carbon atom that is singularly
bonded to four other atoms (three hydrogen, one oxygen). We can tell that this is an alcohol by
locating the hydroxyl group (–OH) at one end of the compound. All alcohols are identifiable by
looking for this hydroxyl group as part of the atomic structure.
A few other common alcohols are:
Ethanol: C2H5OH
Isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol): C3H7OH
5
Isomers
Isomerism results when two or more molecules that have the same molecular makeup have different
structures and orientations. There are two basic types of isomers: structural isomers and
stereoisomers. Structural isomers indicate a differing placement in atoms oriented around the
central atom. Stereoisomers indicate a rotation or an inversion of the molecule—for example,
stereoisomers can be either cis-trans isomers (geometric isomers) or can be "mirror images," which
are called optical isomers. The chart below shows the different types of isomers and gives
examples of each.
Knowing how to determine isomers is important in showing the correct configuration of organic
compounds. As you can see, many compounds have the same makeup (number of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and so on) but they are arranged differently, which affects not only their names (as a name
is what scientists use to indicate structure) but also their configuration, which is what you would
see when looking at the structure.
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Carbon is the Backbone of Life
Organic molecules are the backbone of life and are used in a multitude of synthetic products.
Most of these large molecules are called polymers and are made of repeating units over and over
again. These smaller units that repeat again and again are called monomers. So if you put together
monomers then you are synthesizing a polymer.
DNA, RNA, Proteins are all long carbon chains that are too gigantic to represent here. They are
naturally occurring polymers. The monomers in DNA are put together in specific orders to create
your genetic code which is unique to you.
Polymerization is the process of taking small monomers and linking them together in very long
chains. Simple organic compounds are removed during oil refining processes and they are “cracked”
so they will like together to make longer and longer chains.
These petrochemicals are used to produce;

plastics

nylon

PVC (polyvinylchloride) pipes

pharmaceuticals

numerous other products
Creating Polyethelene:
7
Other organic molecules:
Structures of Pain relievers
Creating PVC from Vinyl Chloride
8
Small Section of DNA
9