Organic Chemistry Flashcards
What is organic chemistry?
The study of carbon compounds
What are hydrocarbons?
Compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms
What are alkanes?
Saturated hydrocarbons in which carbon atoms are joined by single covalent bonds and contain the maximum number of hydrogen atoms.
What kind of bonds do carbon atoms form to each other?
strong covalent bonds
What types of bonds can carbon-carbon bonds be?
single, double, or triple bonds
How can carbon atoms be arranged?
In straight chains, branched chains and rings, or a combination of rings and chains.
What are placed on carbon atoms?
Other atoms/groups of atoms
What types of bonds can carbon-carbon covalent bonds be?
Single, Double or Triple
What is the homologous series?
A family of compounds which have…
A general formula
Similar chemical properties
What are examples of the homologous series?
Alkanes - e.g. CnH2n+2, CH4 or C2H6
Alkenes - e.g. CnH2n, C2H4 or C3H6
What are the next in each series?
Alkanes - e.g. CH4, C2H6
Alkenes - e.g. C2H4, C3H6
C3H8, C4H10, C5H12
C4H8, C5H10
What are alkanes otherwise known as?
Saturated Hydrocarbons
Give some examples of alkanes
Methane CH4
Ethane C2H6
Propane C3H8
Butane C4H10
What is the general formula for alkanes?
CnH2n+2
What does one line represent in a displayed structure (structural formula) of a molecule?
A covalent bond