hydrocarbons Flashcards
what type of molecules is carbon present in
fats, sugars, DNA, proteins
what is the function of carbon
- source of energy
- used in carbon cycle
- allows variety and complexity of molecules
if something contains carbon what is it
organic
what is the black earth
toxic gases, high temperature and pressure
what is abiotic
- non living
- synthesis of organic compounds
what organic molecule was formed
amino acids
what are amino acids
the building blocks of proteins
what is needed to build amino acids and proteins
carbon
how many protein structures are there
4 (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary)
describe what happens to the amount of carbon in the carbon cycle
the amount of carbon in the environment never changes (stays the same)
what is the percentage of carbon in the body
18%
what is the octet rule
- means that an atom needs to have 8 electrons in the outer shell
- as carbon has 4 valence electrons it can make 4 covalent bonds
what are hydrocarbons made of
carbon and hydrogen
name the structures and phases hydrocarbons can occur
- gases (methane), liquids (benzene) and solids (paraffin wax)
- polymers (polyethylene)
what is the classification for hydrocarbons
hydrocarbons can be split into two types called aliphatic and aromatic.
what are aliphatic hydrocarbons split into
aliphatic is further subdivided into saturated and unsaturated, saturated meaning single bonds either in a ring or linear (eg, alkanes) and unsaturated meaning double or triple bonds (linear or ring) (eg, alkenes, alkynes).
what are aromatic hydrocarbons
they are a conjugated system of single and double bonds that are in a ring. (eg, benzene)
describe and give an example of the molecular formula of a hydrocarbon
- gives the number of each atom present but no info about bonding
- C3H8 (propane)
describe and give an example of the condensed formula of a hydrocarbon
- shows no bonds between atoms
- CH3CH2CH3
describe and give an example of the structural formula of a hydrocarbon
- shows the structural arrangement of atoms and not all bonds are shown
- CH3—CH2—CH3
what is the displayed formula
shows all the atoms and bonds present in the compound
what is the skeletal formula
drawed in lines
what is the general formula of alkanes
CnH2n+2
what is an alkane
the simplest form of hydrocarbon
in an alkane how may hydrogens do each carbon bond to
4
what is the homologous series
they are hydrocarbons that have the same general formula and chemical properties. however, they also show a gradual change in physical properties
how would you name an alkane and give an example
number of carbons + suffix (ane)
eg, butane (4 carbons)
how would you name a side chain an give an example
number of carbons + suffix (yl)
eg, butyl
what is the general formula of alkenes
CnH2n
what type of bond do alkenes have
double bond
what is the general formula of alkynes
CnH2n-2
what type of bond do alkynes have
triple bonds
what is the suffix for alkynes
yne
how many functional groups are there
7
name the 7 functional groups
- carbonyl group (ketone/aldehyde)
- hydroxyl group (alcohol= OH)
- carboxyl group (amino acid= COOH)
- amino group (amino acid= NH2)
- sulfhydryl group (protein structure=SH)
- phosphate group (DNA= OPO3)
- methyl group (DNA methylation= CH3)
what makes aldehydes and ketones different even though they are carbonyl groups
aldehydes have a H and R group next to the carbon with the double bond but ketones have R groups on both sides of carbon with double bond
describe amino acids
- both part of amine and carboxyl group
- has side chains that are R groups
describe sulfhydryl group
- when 2 cysteine residues are close to each other they can form a disulphide bridge called cystine
- they stabilise protein structure
describe phosphate group
they are charged and as they release H+ ions into the solution they’re acidic. Sugar-phosphate is also the backbone of DNA
describe methyl groups
they’re from methane, they’re hydrophobic and non-polar
what is DNA methylation
this is when we change the activity of the DNA segment (region of the chromosome that has a specific function) without changing the sequence
what are isomers
- an equal number of atoms of the same element
- they have different molecular formulas but different arrangements of atoms
- have different structures and properties
what are the two types of isomers
structural isomerism and stereo isomerism
what are the types of structural isomers
chain, position and functional group isomerism
what is a chain isomer
it has a different arrangement of chain backbone
what is a position isomer
when the functional group has a different position in the chain
what is functional group isomerism
when there’s a different functional group
what is stereo isomerism
an example is cis-trans isomers:
- which have the same number of carbons and hydrogens
- the double bond is restricted from rotating (inflexibility)
- on each side of the double bond there are different rotations
what is cis in cis-trans isomers
- same molecule on same side of double bond (opposite)
- backbone has a bend
- cis fats are oils at room temperature
what is trans in cis-trans isomers
- same molecule on opposite side of double bond (across)
- backbone which is carbon) van be more or less linear
- trans fats are solid at room temperature
what are different types of stereoisomers
- cis-trans isomers
- conformational isomers
- enantiomers
what is a conformational isomer
this is when there are different orientations (diff forms) of a ring structure which can be interconverted (turned into) due to rotation around a single bond
what are enantiomers
- they are nom-superimposable (can’t be rotated) mirror images of each other
- has an asymmetric carbon and 4 different groups of atoms
- has a chiral centre
what are types of enantiomers
L and D isomers, R,S system
what do enantiomers do
- they rotate plane polarized light (D isomers rotate to right and L isomers rotate light to left)
- they’re optically active
what’s a racemic mixture
when there’s equal amounts of D and L isomers (enantiomers)
what is the R,S system (enantiomers)
this is the cahn-ingold-prelog system. the R stands for rectus and S stands for sinister
what is the pharmacological importance of enantiomers
thalidomide was supposed to be a sedative however when given to pregnant women it caused defects on the babies. they gave R-thalidomide instead of S-thalidomide which is the sedative
what are examples of pharmacological enantiomers
- ibuprofen= the effective enantiomer is S and ineffective is R
- albuterol= the effective enantiomer is R and ineffective is R
