ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
ORGANIC MOLECULES
Organic chemistry is the chemistry of compounds that consist primarily of
carbon and hydrogen
Atoms of nitrogen, oxygen and halogens are sometimes part of organic
molecules
Organic molecules DO NOT include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
diamond, graphite, carbonates and cyanides
UNIQUE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON
Have the ability to form 4 strong covalent bonds
Goes through the process of hybridization which produces 4 available
bonding sites
Bond with other carbon atoms to form chains or ring structures, known
as catenation
Has the ability to form single, double and triple bonds with itself
Catenation is the ability of carbon atoms to bond with themselves to form
chain or ring structures
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF CARBON
o Carbon has allotropes e.g. graphite and diamond. Allotropes are
different crystalline structures of the same element
o Carbon will form a maximum of 4 bonds with other elements (valence of
4 and 4 valence electrons)
Process of hybridization:
Ground state excited state
, In the excited state the valence electrons are unpaired (the 2s electron moves
to the 2p orbital. This is process called orbital mixing. The 2s and 2p orbitals
mix together to produce 4 sub-orbitals of equal energy known as sp 3 hybrid
orbitals and they provide 4 bonding sites.
CLASSIFYING ORGANIC MOLECULES
ORGANIC MOLECULES
HYDROCARBONS
Aromatic
Alkanes
HYDROCARBON DERIVATIVES
Alkynes
Carboxylic acids Haloalkanes
Aliphatic
Esters Alcohols
Alkenes
THE HYDROCARBONS
Hydrocarbon – a compound containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms
Saturated compound – a compound in which all of the bonds between carbon
atoms are single bonds
Unsaturated compound – a compound in which there is at least one double
and/or triple bond between carbon atoms
ORGANIC MOLECULES
Organic chemistry is the chemistry of compounds that consist primarily of
carbon and hydrogen
Atoms of nitrogen, oxygen and halogens are sometimes part of organic
molecules
Organic molecules DO NOT include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
diamond, graphite, carbonates and cyanides
UNIQUE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON
Have the ability to form 4 strong covalent bonds
Goes through the process of hybridization which produces 4 available
bonding sites
Bond with other carbon atoms to form chains or ring structures, known
as catenation
Has the ability to form single, double and triple bonds with itself
Catenation is the ability of carbon atoms to bond with themselves to form
chain or ring structures
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF CARBON
o Carbon has allotropes e.g. graphite and diamond. Allotropes are
different crystalline structures of the same element
o Carbon will form a maximum of 4 bonds with other elements (valence of
4 and 4 valence electrons)
Process of hybridization:
Ground state excited state
, In the excited state the valence electrons are unpaired (the 2s electron moves
to the 2p orbital. This is process called orbital mixing. The 2s and 2p orbitals
mix together to produce 4 sub-orbitals of equal energy known as sp 3 hybrid
orbitals and they provide 4 bonding sites.
CLASSIFYING ORGANIC MOLECULES
ORGANIC MOLECULES
HYDROCARBONS
Aromatic
Alkanes
HYDROCARBON DERIVATIVES
Alkynes
Carboxylic acids Haloalkanes
Aliphatic
Esters Alcohols
Alkenes
THE HYDROCARBONS
Hydrocarbon – a compound containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms
Saturated compound – a compound in which all of the bonds between carbon
atoms are single bonds
Unsaturated compound – a compound in which there is at least one double
and/or triple bond between carbon atoms
