Chapter 1
A Review of General Chemistry: Electrons, Bonds,
and Molecular Properties
, 1.1 Organic Chemistry
• The study of carbon-containing molecules and their reactions
• What happens to a molecule during a reaction?
– molecules collide
– bonds are broken and bonds are made
• Why do reactions, like the one above, occur?
– We will need at least 2 semesters of your time to answer
this question
– FOCUS ON THE ELECTRONS
, 1.1 Organic Chemistry
• How do we distinguish between organic and inorganic
compounds?
Organic compounds contain carbon atoms, inorganic
compounds do not (for the most part).
• Why are organic compounds important? Organic compounds
make up things like:
- Food
- Clothes
- Pharmaceuticals
- Plastics
- BIOMOLECULES!! (amino acids, proteins, DNA, RNA)
, 1.2 Structural Theory
• In the mid 1800s, it was first suggested that substances are
defined by a specific arrangement of atoms.
– Why is a compounds formula not adequate to define it?
Because compounds differ in the specific ways in which
atoms are bonded together.
• Compounds with the same molecular formula but different
structures are constitutional isomers.
A Review of General Chemistry: Electrons, Bonds,
and Molecular Properties
, 1.1 Organic Chemistry
• The study of carbon-containing molecules and their reactions
• What happens to a molecule during a reaction?
– molecules collide
– bonds are broken and bonds are made
• Why do reactions, like the one above, occur?
– We will need at least 2 semesters of your time to answer
this question
– FOCUS ON THE ELECTRONS
, 1.1 Organic Chemistry
• How do we distinguish between organic and inorganic
compounds?
Organic compounds contain carbon atoms, inorganic
compounds do not (for the most part).
• Why are organic compounds important? Organic compounds
make up things like:
- Food
- Clothes
- Pharmaceuticals
- Plastics
- BIOMOLECULES!! (amino acids, proteins, DNA, RNA)
, 1.2 Structural Theory
• In the mid 1800s, it was first suggested that substances are
defined by a specific arrangement of atoms.
– Why is a compounds formula not adequate to define it?
Because compounds differ in the specific ways in which
atoms are bonded together.
• Compounds with the same molecular formula but different
structures are constitutional isomers.
