9.1- The Chemistry of Carbon Compounds


-Classified compounds used to be classified as either organic or inorganic
-A theory called “Vitalism” suggested that organic compounds needed a “vital force” in order to be synthesized
-This theory was proven unacceptable by a lab experiment performed by the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882) in which he synthesized urea H2NCONH2 from the inorganic compound ammonium cyanate NH4OCN
-The synthesis of acetic acid and sucrose from inorganic compounds also disproved of the theory
-Organic chemistry is the study of molecular compounds.
- Organic compounds are formed from covalent bonds within their molecules
-Inorganic compounds consist of ionic bonds
-Through technology compounds could be obtained from many ways such as mining
-Carbon atoms can form four bonds which lets it have the ability to do single, double, and triple bonds
-Carbon atoms can also bond together to form chains, rings, spheres, sheets, and tubes of any size
-Molecular formulas help communicate the relative number of atoms present in a molecule and, in some cases, suggests a molecule’s structure
-Isomers are substances with the same molecular formula but different structures
-The possibility of various isomers increases dramatically as the number of carbon atoms in a molecule increases
-To aid us in visualizing the structures of molecules, ball-and-stick models and space-filling models shows us the different aspects of molecules
-Structural diagrams also called molecular structure
-A complete structural diagram shows all the atoms and bonds
-A condensed structural diagram omits the C-H bonds but shows all carbon-carbon bonds
-A line structural diagram represents long chains of carbon atoms, the end of each line segment represents a carbon atom, and hydrogen atoms are not shown
-Organic substances are classified into families based on the characteristic structures and bonds within the molecules
-Functional groups are characteristic arrangement of atoms within a molecule that are believed to be largely responsible for properties of the compound
-Hydroxyl functional group is determined by the presence of the –OH groups of atoms
-Functional groups, sites where chemists believe reactions take place, help to explain many chemical properties of organic compounds