Organic Chemistry Introduction Part 2
In Part One, we covered several topics. Now, let's focus on functional
groups, do some examples, and address a common mistake made by students.
Just let's get sum up what we learn in part 1..
Introduction to Organic Chemistry -
In the past, compounds were classified based on their sources, and two main
groups of compounds were formed; organic compounds and inorganic
compounds.
Organic compounds are obtained from living organisms, for example,
carbohydrates from plants, proteins from animals, and lipids from animals.
In contrast, inorganic compounds are obtained from non-living things, for
example, salts like table salt, sulphates like calcium sulfate, and nitrates like
potassium nitrate.
Later Berzelius presented the vital force theory in 1809, which states that organic
compounds are synthesized by living organisms and cannot be prepared in the
laboratory.
Due to this belief, the vast field of organic compounds was not discovered.
However, a German scientist, Friedrich Uhler, broke the vital force theory in 1828
by preparing the first organic compound, urea, in a laboratory.
Thus, he opened a new chapter in chemistry called organic chemistry.
What is Organic Chemistry?
"Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry in which we study carbon and hydrogen
compounds and their derivatives."
For example, we study about two areas in organic chemistry:
Carbon and hydrogen compounds like CH4, which is commonly known as biogas.
Carbon and hydrogen derivatives; for instance, we can convert CH4 or methane into
carbon tetra bromide CBr4.
1
, It means that this carbon tetra bromide is derived from methane, so it is also an organic
compound.
However, note that there are some compounds that contain carbon but are not organic
compounds, for example, carbides like aluminium carbide, carbonates like calcium
carbonate, and cyanides like sodium cyanide.
We learnt that organic chemistry is the study of organic compounds --
compounds containing carbon atoms, which like to form four bonds.
Understanding the number of bonds that other elements can form is also crucial
for drawing Lewis structures.
The electronegativity difference between two elements determines whether the
bond is polar or not.
A carbon-fluorine bond is polar while a carbon-hydrogen bond is nonpolar
because carbon is less electronegative than fluorine but not so much with
hydrogen.
In this section, we learn about alkanes, which are hydrocarbons with single bonds,
and their condensed structure, as well as their Lewis structures.
We also learn about alkenes, which contain at least one double bond, and alkynes,
which contain a triple bond. These unsaturated compounds contain fewer
hydrogen atoms than alkanes, which are considered saturated compounds.
We then focus on the different carbon-carbon bonds and learn that the carbon-
carbon single bond is longer than the carbon-carbon double bond, which is longer
than the carbon-carbon triple bond.
Now discusses bond length and strength, sigma and pi bonds, bond order, and
hybridization. Single bonds are longer than triple bonds, however, triple bonds are
stronger than single bonds due to their three bonds versus one bond.
Sigma bonds are stronger than pi bonds when comparing one bond to one bond.
The bond order for single, double and triple bonds are 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
One can determine the hybridization of a certain carbon atom by counting the
number of atoms attached to the carbon atom and the number of lone pairs it
has.
2
In Part One, we covered several topics. Now, let's focus on functional
groups, do some examples, and address a common mistake made by students.
Just let's get sum up what we learn in part 1..
Introduction to Organic Chemistry -
In the past, compounds were classified based on their sources, and two main
groups of compounds were formed; organic compounds and inorganic
compounds.
Organic compounds are obtained from living organisms, for example,
carbohydrates from plants, proteins from animals, and lipids from animals.
In contrast, inorganic compounds are obtained from non-living things, for
example, salts like table salt, sulphates like calcium sulfate, and nitrates like
potassium nitrate.
Later Berzelius presented the vital force theory in 1809, which states that organic
compounds are synthesized by living organisms and cannot be prepared in the
laboratory.
Due to this belief, the vast field of organic compounds was not discovered.
However, a German scientist, Friedrich Uhler, broke the vital force theory in 1828
by preparing the first organic compound, urea, in a laboratory.
Thus, he opened a new chapter in chemistry called organic chemistry.
What is Organic Chemistry?
"Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry in which we study carbon and hydrogen
compounds and their derivatives."
For example, we study about two areas in organic chemistry:
Carbon and hydrogen compounds like CH4, which is commonly known as biogas.
Carbon and hydrogen derivatives; for instance, we can convert CH4 or methane into
carbon tetra bromide CBr4.
1
, It means that this carbon tetra bromide is derived from methane, so it is also an organic
compound.
However, note that there are some compounds that contain carbon but are not organic
compounds, for example, carbides like aluminium carbide, carbonates like calcium
carbonate, and cyanides like sodium cyanide.
We learnt that organic chemistry is the study of organic compounds --
compounds containing carbon atoms, which like to form four bonds.
Understanding the number of bonds that other elements can form is also crucial
for drawing Lewis structures.
The electronegativity difference between two elements determines whether the
bond is polar or not.
A carbon-fluorine bond is polar while a carbon-hydrogen bond is nonpolar
because carbon is less electronegative than fluorine but not so much with
hydrogen.
In this section, we learn about alkanes, which are hydrocarbons with single bonds,
and their condensed structure, as well as their Lewis structures.
We also learn about alkenes, which contain at least one double bond, and alkynes,
which contain a triple bond. These unsaturated compounds contain fewer
hydrogen atoms than alkanes, which are considered saturated compounds.
We then focus on the different carbon-carbon bonds and learn that the carbon-
carbon single bond is longer than the carbon-carbon double bond, which is longer
than the carbon-carbon triple bond.
Now discusses bond length and strength, sigma and pi bonds, bond order, and
hybridization. Single bonds are longer than triple bonds, however, triple bonds are
stronger than single bonds due to their three bonds versus one bond.
Sigma bonds are stronger than pi bonds when comparing one bond to one bond.
The bond order for single, double and triple bonds are 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
One can determine the hybridization of a certain carbon atom by counting the
number of atoms attached to the carbon atom and the number of lone pairs it
has.
2
