ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Organic compounds are covalently bonded compounds containing carbon. (usually in chains)
Catenation is the covalent binding of an element to itself to form chains or rings.
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Hydrocarbons are composed of only carbon and hydrogen; they are the simplest organic compounds.
Structural Isomers are isomers in which the atoms are bonded together in different orders. (but have the same formula)
2 methyl butane pentane
C
5
H
12
C
5
H
12
Geometric Isomers are isomers in which the order of atom bonding is the same but the arrangement of atoms in space is different. cis - trans -

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Nomenclature
Organic compounds are named using prefixes and suffixes to indicate the shape and structure of molecules. [with the abundance of structural isomers formulas are not good enough]
Prefixes indicate the number of carbons present in an organic compound:
Suffixes are used to indicate the type of bonds present in an organic compound:
Prefix# of C indicated meth1
eth-
prop-
2
3
but-
pent-
4
5 hexheptoctnondec-
8
9
6
7
10
Suffix Typ of Bond indicated
-ane all single bonds
-ene at least one double bond
-yne at least one triple bond
Saturated hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons in which each carbon atom in the molecule forms four single covalent bonds with other atoms.
Alkanes are hydrocarbons that contain only single bonds.

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Unsaturated hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons in which not all carbon atoms have four single covalent bonds.
Alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain double covalent bonds.
Alkynes are hydrocarbons with triple covalent bonds.
Transposition is the tendency of a compound to rearrange itself so as to relieve structural stress.
 double bonds will alternate if possible
 triple bonds may only exist on terminal bond sites
 double and triple bonds are unlikely in a single molecule
Cyclocarbons are hydrocarbons in which the carbon atoms are arranged in a ring, or cyclic structure.
*Although the longest chain is normally your primary chain when naming hydrocarbons, the presence of double bonds, triple bonds, or cyclocarbons takes precedence over the longest chain rule.

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Aromatic hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons with six-membered carbon rings and delocalized electrons.
Ex: benzene (1,3,5 hexene)
A functional group is an atom or group of atoms that is responsible for the specific properties of an organic compound.
Some common functional groups and how to name them:
Alkyl groups (prefixes)
R-CH
3 methyl R-CH
2
CH
3
ethyl . . .
Halides (prefixes)
R-Br bromo R-I odo R-Cl chloro R-F flouro
Ketones(sufix)
R=O one
Alchols (sufix)
R-OH ol
Ethers (root word)
R-O-R'

Organic Reactions:
Organic reactions depend heavily on stability and abundance. For this reason let us look at these to terms and there relationship to
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Stability:
For the most part stability can be classified as follows
 alkanes are more stable than alkenes, which are more stable than alkynes
 the first stable cyclo-carbon is cyclo-pentene
 alternating double bonds in cyclo-carbons are as stable as alkenes due to the delocalization of the electrons
Abundance:
Abundance in organic chemistry is closely related to VSEPR, that is the repulsion of electrons will cause certain products to form more or less often than others. For the most part:
 arrangements with functional groups in close proximity are rare
 arrangements with functional groups spaced evenly are common
 arrangements with functional groups spaced somewhat evenly will occur in intermediate amounts
A couple of simple organic reaction rules:
 Stable compounds will yield double replacement reactions

Unstable compounds will yield composition reactions

It is often possible to yield several different products from one reaction