M4 Basic Concepts of Organic Chemistry

Question 1

What is a hydrocarbon?

Answer 1

A compound containing carbon and hydrogen only.

Hydrocarbons can be saturated or unsaturated:
- a saturated hydrocarbon has single bonds only (alkanes) CnH2n+2
- an unsaturated hydrocarbon contains carbon=carbon double bonds (alkanes) CnH2n

Question 2

What is a homologous series?

Answer 2

A family of compounds with similar chemical properties whose successive members differ by the addition of a CH2 group.

Question 3

What is a functional group?

Answer 3

Part of the organic molecule that is largely responsible for the molecules chemical properties. This results in the formation of molecules containing different functional groups, such as alcohol and amine groups.

Question 4

How many successive carbons does methane have?

Answer 4

1

Question 5

how many succesive carbons does ethane have?

Answer 5

2

Question 6

How many succesive carbons does propane have?

Answer 6

3

Question 7

How many succesive carbons does butane have?

Answer 7

4

Question 8

How many succesive carbons does pentane have?

Answer 8

5

Question 9

How many succesive carbons does hexane have?

Answer 9

6

Question 10

How many succesive carbons does heptane have?

Answer 10

7

Question 11

How many succesive carbons does octane have?

Answer 11

8

Question 12

How to name alkanes?

Answer 12

Functional group: C-C
Suffix: -ane

Question 13

How to name alkenes?

Answer 13

Functional group: C=C
Suffix: -ene

Question 14

How to name haloalkanes?

Answer 14

Functional group: -F, -Cl, -Br, -I
Prefix: fluro-, chloro-, bromo-, iodo-

Question 15

How to name alcohols?

Answer 15

Functional group: -OH
Prefix: hydroxyl-
Suffix: -ol

Question 16

How to name aldehydes?

Answer 16

Functional group: - C=O (-CHO)
|
H
Suffix: -al

Question 17

How to name ketones?

Answer 17

C
|
Functional group: C=O (C-CO-C)
|
C
Suffix: -one

Question 18

How to name carboxylic acids?

Answer 18

Functional group: - C=O
|
OH
Suffix: -oic acid

Question 19

What is the general formula?

Answer 19

The simplify algebraic formula of a member of a homologous series

Question 20

What is the structural formula?

Answer 20

The minimal detail that shows the arrangement of atoms in a molecule

Question 21

What is the displayed formula?

Answer 21

The relative positioning of atoms and the bonds between them

Question 22

What is the skeletal formula?

Answer 22

The simplified organic formula, shown by removing hydrogen atoms from alkyl chains, leaving just a carbon skeleton and associated functional groups

Question 23

Rules for naming organic compounds:

Answer 23

• Chose the lowest numbering possible
• if there are more than one functional group, they should be ordered in alphabetical order

Question 24

How to name multiple functional groups

Answer 24

2 = di
3 = tri
4 = tetra

eg. 4,4-dimethylpentan-1-ol

Question 25

What are structural isomers?

Answer 25

Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formula. The types include chain, functional group and positional

Question 26

What are chain isomers?

Answer 26

Chain isomerism occurs when there is a difference in the atomic arrangement of the carbon to the carbon chain of a molecule. (if two or more compounds have the same molecular formula with different main chains, they have chain isomerism)

Question 27

What are positional isomers?

Answer 27

Positional isomers have the same carbon skeleton and the same functional group, they differ from each other based on the position of the functional groups on the carbon chain.

Question 28

What are functional group isomers?

Answer 28

They have the same molecular formula but the atoms are connected in different ways, meaning they have different functional groups.

Question 29

How are covalent bonds broken?

Answer 29

Covalent bonds are a shared pair of electrons between two atoms. When a chemical reaction takes place, bonds in the reactants break and new bonds are formed. Covalent bonds can be broken be either homolytic fission or heterolytic fission.

Question 30

Describe homolytic fission

Answer 30

When a covalent bond breaks by homolytic fission, each of the bonded atoms takes one of the shared pair of electrons from the bond. - Each atom has a single unpaired electron - An atom or groups of atoms with an unpaired electron is called a radical eg. H3C-CH3 —> H3C• + •CH3 (radicals)

Question 31

Describe heterolytic fission

Answer 31

When a covalent bond breaks by heterolytic fission, one of the bonded atoms takes both of the electrons from the bond. - the atom that takes both electrons becomes a negative ion - the atom that does not take the electrons becomes a positive ion eg. H3C-Cl —> H3C+ + Cl-

Question 32

What is an addition reaction?

Answer 32

Two reactants join together to form one product

Question 33

What is a substitution reaction?

Answer 33

An atom or group of atoms is replaced by a different atom or group of atoms

Question 34

What is an elimination reaction?

Answer 34

The removal of a small molecule for a larger one. One reactant molecule forms two products.