Carbon Flashcards
what is organic chemistry?
the study of carbon compounds, everything from CH4 to the four biomolecules (carbs, lipids, proteins, nucleic acid)
why is CO2 considered as inorganic?
although it has C, it lacks H
how did Stanley Miller create organic compounds?
recreated conditions he thought to have existed on the primordial Earth and through abiotic synthesis, he created them
what 4 gases did Miller put into his glasses? what notable gas is not present?
h2o, h2, nh3, ch4; o2
what is the electrical discharge released by the electrodes supposed to represent in the eely Earth?
lightning
what color was the solution collected in the flask? what is it often referred to as?
murky brown; “primordial soup”
what were some of the organic molecules Miller created through abiotic synthesis?
some amino acids, hydrocarbons
what have scientists found after opening Miller’s original sealed flasks?
~15 amino acids
evidence today suggests the 4 gases used in Miller’s experiment were not principal gases of the early Earth. what do scientists say about the most abundant gases that time?
H2O, CO2, SO2, N2
what element number is Carbon? how many valence electrons? what bonds does it make? what structures?
6; 4; single or double covalent binds; straight, branches, ringed structures
prefixes for number of carbons
1- meth
2 - eth
3 - prop
4 - but
5 - pent
6 - hex
7 - hept
8 - oct
9 - non
10 - dec
hydrocarbons
molecules that only consist of carbon and hydrogen that undergo reaction which release a large amount of energy
nonpolar and found in adipose/fat tissue
isomers
compounds with the same number of atoms of the same elements, but diff structure and function
how do structural isomer differ?
spatial arrangements
how do cis-trans isomers differ?
carbons have covalent bonds to the same atoms, but the atoms differ in spatial arrangement due to the inflexibility of double bonds
cis - same side
trans - diagonal
how do enantiomers differ?
they are mirror images of each other/a chiral molecule
cannot be superimposed due to the presences of an asymmetric carbon-one that is attached to four different atoms or groups of atoms
what does chiral mean?
opposite