8.1 Organic Chemistry Flashcards
What did early chemists notice
Early chemists noticed differences between compounds derived from non-living matter and those from living matter, including those from living matter destroyed by heat more easily.
What is organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is defined as the study of compounds containing carbon
Why is carbon important
Carbon which can form 4 different covalent bonds, and makeup the backbone of all organic compounds. Carbons’ 4 possible bonds allow it to bond with 4 other atoms including more carbon, and so can form long carbon chains which facilitate all organic compounds.
What other elements are common in organic compounds
The main elements are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulphur. By mass oxygen is the most prevalent element in living organism, but this is mainly due to the abundance of water which is an inorganic compound.
carbon is considered more important as it is the key element in creating organic compounds which leads to the science fiction expression “carbon-based life forms
What is the difference between organic and inorganic compounds
The substances derived from living or formerly living matter are calledorganic compounds; those derived from non-living materials are calledinorganic compounds.
What is the difference between elements that form inorganic and organic compounds
While inorganic compounds can contain any of the elements on the periodic table. All organic compounds were found to contain carbon. Nearly all contained hydrogen, and many contained oxygen also. Apart from these three main elements, organic compounds were found to contain very few other elements, mainly nitrogen and sulphur.
What did scientists previously think about the origins of organic compounds
For a while no scientists could manage to synthesize organic compounds, it was thought they could only be made in living organisms. They thought a vital force in life was neccessary
In 1828 Friedrich Wöhler (ver-ler) disproved this “vital force” theory by creating urea through a simple heating of NH4OCN
What are the 3 exceptions to carbon = organic
Almost all compounds that contain carbon are classified as organic. However, there are two or three exceptions, namely:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO)
- Carbonates, such as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)
- Cyanides, such as potassium cyanide (KCN).
How common are organic compounds
The number of different organic compounds is vast. It is many, many times the total of all known inorganic compounds. In fact, more new organic compounds are synthesized every year than the total of all known inorganic compounds
What are the two main types of organic molecule
two main types predominate: hydrocarbons and carbohydrates. Hydrocarbons consist of carbon and hydrogen only. Examples are: methane, propane, octane (gasoline), and polyethene. Carbohydrates consist of carbon and hydrogen plus oxygen, and sometimes other elements. Examples are alcohol, sugar, and starch.
What is the structure of carbon-based molecules
Carbon forms 4 bonds which are as far apart as possible, When structural diagrams are drawn in two dimensions, it appears the angle between the bonds is 90°. X-ray crystalography experiments have shown that the angle between each bond is about 110 (109.7 to be more exact). Precision model kits will show this nicely.
Carbon’s bond can be single, double, or triple bonds.
