Organic Flashcards
Briefly describe covalent bonding
Covalent bonds form most of the bonds in organic compounds. When forming covalent bonds, atoms tend to attain a noble gas configuration
State the three things to consider when looking at how covalent bonds form
- The total number of electrons in an atom
- The number of electrons in the outer shell
- The valency (ie the number of bonds)
Define alkynes
A homologous series containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond
Define allenes
Compounds in which one carbon atom is double bonded to two other carbon atoms
Define the node/nodal plane
An area of low electron density
Describe how to count electrons for any atom in a molecule
The purpose is to determine how many electrons the atom owns in the molecule compared to how many it owns as an isolated atom. It owns one electron per bond and two per lone pair
Describe s orbitals
S orbitals are spherical
Describe p orbitals
p orbitals are dumbbell shaped with a node in the middle. There are three p orbitals, labelled x y and z and they are superimposed at 90 degrees to each other.
Describe hybrid orbitals
When bonds are formed, various combinations of s and p orbitals give hybrid orbitals, which define the shapes of molecules
Describe sp3 hybridisation
One s and three p orbitals mix to form four identical sp3 hybrid orbitals. Each orbital is dumbbell shaped with one lobe smaller than the other, and the four have corners forming a tetrahedron, and are 109.5 degrees apart from each other
Describe the bonding in methane
Each sp3 hybrid orbital forms a sigma bond (a region of high electron density) with a hydrogen atom.
Describe sp2 hybridisation
One s and two p orbitals mix to form three identical sp2 hybrid orbitals. Each orbital is dumbbell shaped with one lobe smaller than the other, and the three have corners forming a linear equilateral triangle (trigonal orientation), and are 120 degrees apart from each other. The remaining p orbital is perpendicular to this plane.
State the multiplier given by ‘pico’
1x10-12
Define a double bond and state its bond length in carbon
A double bond is formed of one sigma bond and one pi bond. A carbon carbon double bond is approximately 134pm
Describe sp hybridisation
One s and one p orbital mix to form two identical sp hybrid orbitals. Each orbital is dumbbell shaped with one lobe smaller than the other, and point at 180 degrees to each other. The other two 2p orbitals are perpendicular to each other and are in line with the sp orbitals.
Define a triple bond and state its bond length in carbon
A triple bond is formed of one sigma bond and two pi bonds between the same two atoms. A carbon carbon triple bond is approximately 120pm.
Describe how to identify sp hybridisation by looking at the number of pi and sigma bonds
If a carbon atom has 2 pi bonds and 2 sigma bonds, it is sp hybridised
Describe how to identify sp2 hybridisation by looking at the number of pi and sigma bonds
If a carbon atom has 1 pi bond and 3 sigma bonds, it is sp2 hybridised
Describe how to identify sp3 hybridisation by looking at the number of pi and sigma bonds
If a carbon atom has 0 pi bonds and 4 sigma bonds, it is sp3 hybridised.
State which out of pi and sigma bonds are weaker
Pi bonds are weaker than sigma bonds.
Define the electronegativity of an element
Electronegativity is a measure of an element’s tendency to attract the electron density in a covalent bond
Describe what happens in a bond if there is a difference in electronegativity between the atoms
Bonds are polarised, as one atom will be pulling the bonding electrons more forcefully than the other. This forms a dipole, and can be shown using an arrow (->-) or with partial charges. The bigger the difference in electronegativity, the bigger the partial charges