Organic Versus Inorganic Compounds

There are chief differences between organic and inorganic compounds. While both types of compounds
make up the basis of chemistry, the two types are rather different. The main difference is in the presence
of a carbon atom; organic compounds will contain a carbon atom (and often a hydrogen atom, to form
hydrocarbons), while almost all inorganic compounds do not contain either of those two atoms.

While most inorganic compounds do not contain carbon, there are a few that do. Carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide, for example, each contain carbon atoms, but the amount is not large enough to form
strong bonds with the oxygen present in the molecule. Due to the small amount of carbon and the weak
bonds it forms, scientists have long classified those molecules as inorganic, but this has led some in the
scientific community to declare the need for a better classification system for compounds.

Another important distinction between organic and inorganic compounds is the type of molecule and its
association with living things. Organic compounds will include things like the nucleic acids, found in DNA,
lipids and fatty acids found in the cells of living organisms, proteins and enzymes that are necessary for
cellular processes to take place, and more. Meanwhile, inorganic compounds include the salts, metals,
and other elemental compounds.

1. C12H22O11 - Sucrose, better known as the sugar we use at home, is an important organic
compound that contains not only carbon and hydrogen, but contains them in abundance and in ratios
greater than the oxygen present.

2. CH4 - Also known by the more common name methane, this carbon and hydrogen based organic
compound is a widely recognized waste product of living things.

3. C55H72O5N4Mg - Better known among researchers as chlorophyll-a, this component found in

green plants not only is high in carbon and hydrogen ratios, but is also a chief factor in the process of
photosynthesis in plants.

4. (NH4)2S - Despite the presence of hydrogen atoms in this compound, the lack of a carbon atom
and the resulting weak bonds that are formed between the atoms makes ammonium sulfide an inorganic
compound.

5. CaCl2 - Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound with a variety of uses, but its lack of either a
carbon atom, a hydrogen atom, or both means it is classified as an inorganic compound

Organic vs Inorganic Compounds

The most common differentiation to help distinguish between organic and inorganic compounds used to
be the fact that organic compounds result from the activity of living beings, whereas inorganic
compounds are either the result of natural processes unrelated to any life form or the result of human
experimentation in the laboratory.
But this definition is not strictly true because these days organic compounds can be artificially created by
human beings, and moreover organic compounds have been found in outer space where there are no
living beings. A more acceptable difference pertains to the salt making property of inorganic compounds
which is absent in organic compound. But this definition too is not sacrosanct as both these compounds
are sometimes known to buck the trend when it comes to the presence or absence of this property.

Some might hold that organic compounds have carbon while inorganic do not. This too is not strictly one
hundred per cent correct. A more tenable explanation is that organic compounds have carbon-hydrogen
bonds, while inorganic do not. This is largely true and therefore is a real distinguishing characteristic.

Yet another difference is the fact that inorganic compounds contain metal atoms, whereas organic
compounds do not. This too is not one hundred percent true. Maybe one could just take the word of
organic and inorganic chemist on what constitutes an organic or inorganic compound. Organic
compounds are biological and inorganic are mineral in nature.

way of bringing out the difference is to point out that organic compounds are part of a class of chemical
compounds, the molecules of which contain carbon and hydrogen. By this logic carbide, carbonates,
carbon oxides, and elementary carbon do not qualify to be organic compounds. Inorganic compound
come mainly from mineral sources of non biological origin. The modern view of inorganic compounds
believes that inorganic compounds mostly comprise of metal containing compounds even if they happen
to exist in living organisms.

Thus we see that what constitutes organic or inorganic compounds has changed over a period of time,
and there happen to be no water tight compartments which will differentiate the two. However one can
always differentiate between organic compounds and inorganic compounds.

Summary:

1. Organic compounds are the result of activities of living beings while inorganic compounds are created
either due to natural processes unrelated to any life form or the result of human experimentation in the
laboratory.

2. Inorganic compounds can make salt, while organic cannot.

3. Organic compounds contain carbon, while inorganic do not.

4. Organic compounds have carbon-hydrogen bonds, while inorganic do not.

5. Inorganic compounds contain metal atoms, whereas organic compounds do not.

6. Organic compounds are biological and inorganic are mineral in nature.

7. Organic compounds are part of a class of chemical compounds the molecules of which contain carbon
and hydrogen, while inorganic compounds mostly comprise of metal containing compounds even if they
happen to exist in living organisms.

Organic compound is any chemical compound which contain carbon and also hydrogen atoms.
Moreover, the form of list of organic chemicals can be gaseous, liquid or solid form. Commonly, there are
two types of organic compounds namely natural organic compound and also synthetic organic
compound. Here is a list of the examples of organic compounds and uses that we can find around us:

Alkyl halides

Alkyl halides are an organic chemical compound which also can be called as haloalkalines. In this
component, there are one or even more hydrogen atoms that have been replaced by halogen atoms
such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. The example of alkyl halides is carbon tetra chloride with
formula CC14
Organic acids

Organic acids are the organic chemical compound with acidic properties. Carboxylic acids are the most
common organic acids. The examples of organic aicd are perchloric acid (HC104), (propanoic acid)
CH3CH2COOH, (ethanoic acid ) CH3COOH, (hexanoic acid) CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2COOH, (carbolic acid or
hydroxybenzene, not IUPAC names) C6H5OH, (4-methylbenzenesulfonic acid) CH3C6H4SO3H, and many
more.

The form of those acids is in solid state. This chemical compound is commonly used for oil and gas. It is
much less reactive upon metals. The organic aicds are used in some food industry as list of food
preservative due to their effects on bacteria.

Steroid structures

Steroid structure create cholesterol and also other structures which derive from fats and lipids. The
example of steroid structure is betamethasone.

Aromatic compounds

Aromatic compound is also example of organic chemical compound which is also be called as arenes or
aromatics. It contains conjugated planar ring system instead of alternating single and double bonds. This
aromatic compounds are cyclic in nature but they are unsaturated, and have scent of their own for
example Benzede which is used as a solvent.

Amino acids

Amino acids are organic compound which contain amine (NH2) and carboxyl (COOH). This organic
chemical compounds are the monomers which make proteins. In some industries, amino acids are used
as additives as animal food. Other major usage of amino acid is glutamic acid that is used as flavor
enhancer and aspartame, a low-calorie list artificial sweetener you should avoid.

Polymers

The next example of organic compound is polymer. This chemical is a large molecule or macromolecule
which is composed from some repeated sub-units. Polymers are made through polymerization from
many small molecules which are known as monomers. This organic compound has two types namely
natural polymeric and synthetic polymers.

The examples of natural polymeric are shellac, amber, wool, silk, natural rubber and cellulose.
Meanwhile, the examples of synthetic polymers are synthetic rubber, phenol formaldehyde resin,
neoprene, nylon, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethlene, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, PVB,
silicone and etc. Indeed, there are some examples of organic compounds and uses.

Petrochemicals

Petrochemicals are other kind of organic chemical compound. This chemical is also called as petrolium
distillates which is derived from petroleum. Petrolium is commonly made from fossil fuels, such as coal,
natural gas and other renewable resources (corn and sugar cane).

Monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are the most basic unit of carbohydrates which means this is an example of organic
chemical compound. It is also called as simple sugar and is colorless, water soluble and crystalline solids.
The general formula or monosaccharides is CnH2nOn . as the simple sugar, monosaccharide mostly has
sweet taste.

The examples of monosaccharides are: Allose, Altrose, Arabinose, Erythrose, Fructose, Galactose,
Glucose, Gulose, Idose, Lyxose, Mannoheptulose, Mannose, Ribose, Ribulose, Sedoheptulose, Sorbose,
Tagatose, Talose, Threose, Xylose, Xylulose

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are one of organic compound which also can be called as double sugar or biose. This is
formed when two simple sugar (monosaccharides) are joined together by glycosidic linkage. The joined
of two simple sugar happen by a condesation reaction, which the reaction involve the elimination of a
water molecule from just the functional groups.
Then, the breaking double sugar into two simple sugar again is accomplished by hydrolysis and being
helped by an enzyme called disaccharidase. The examples of disaccharide are Sucrose, Maltose,
Trehalose, Lactose, Melibiose

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are also example of the organic chemical compound. This compounds are plymeric
carbohydrate molecules. It is commonly quite heterogeneous. Polysaccharides have enormouse
industrial application. It is a natural renewable sources which can be used as aqueous environments
which is able to thicken, chelate, emusify, stabilize, encapsulate, flocculate, swell and suspend, to form
gels, films and also membranes.

The examples of polysaccharides are: Amylose, Amylopectin, Glycogen, Dextran, Inulin, Cellulose,
Carboxymethyl Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Arabinoxylan, Chitin, Beta-Glucan, Glycosaminoglycans, Agar
agar, Carrageenan, Galactomannan, Pectin, glucomannan, xanthan gum, and many more.

Lipid

Lipid is a substance which is soluble in nonpolar solvents, it is naturally occuring molecules such as fats,
waxes, sterols, fat soluble vitamis (vitamin A, D< E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides,
phospholipids, and many more.

The fats and also vitamins that lipd has can give benefits to human body as human need a dietary need
for certain essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega -6 fatty acids. The consumption of fatty acid
is good for infant development, to fight cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and some mental illness such
as depression, hyperactivity disorder and also dementia.

The examples of lipid are: N-Acylethanolamine, Adipocere, 2-Arachidonyl glyceryl ether, Arachidonyl-2′-
chloroethylamide, Arachidonylcyclopropylamide, Archaeol, Biolipid, Caldarchaeol, CDw17 antigen,
Ceramide, Ceramide phosphoethanolamine synthase, Chlorosulfolipid, Diglyceride, N,N-
Dimethylsphingosine, Ether lipid, Ethylhexyl palmitate, Fatty alcohol, Glyceride, Glycerolysis, Hardened
fat, Interesterified fat and many more.
Protein

Protein is macromolecules which consists of one or more chains of residues from amino acid. Protein
performs some functions such as catalysing metabolic reaction, DNA replications and transporting
molecules from a particluar location into another. Furthermore, mostly, protein consists of linear
polymers that build from up to 20 different L-α-amino acids.

The examples of protein are: Glucose transporter, Epidermal growth factor, Fibroblast growth factor,
Vascular endothelial growth factor, Insulin, Insulin-like growth factor, Oxytocin, Androgens, Estrogens,
Progesterones, Rhodopsin, Estrogen receptor, Histones, Protamines, CI protein, C-myc, FOXP2, FOXP3,
MyoD, P53, Immunoglobins, Major histocompatibility antigens, T cell receptor, Ferritin, Protein C, Protein
S, Protein Z, Protein Z-related protease inhibitor, Thrombin, Von Willebrand Factor, C-reactive protein,
Cadherin, Ependymin, Integrin, NCAM, Selectin, CFTR, Glycophorin D, Scramblase, Nicotinic acetylcholine
receptor, GABAa receptors, Potassium channels, Calcium channels, Sodium channels, Actin, Arp2/3,
Coronin, Dystrophin, FtsZ, Keratin, Llana Ganda, Collagen, Elastin, F-spondin, Pikachurin, Fibronectin,
Serum Amyloid P Component, Serum albumin, C1-inhibitor, C3-convertase, Factor VIII, Factor XIII, and
many more.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids, the overall name for DNA and RNA, are kind of organic chemical. It is a biopolymer or a
large biomolecules which is essential to all forms of life. This chemical is composed from monomers.
Nucleic acids are the most important biomolecules which are found in all living things to create and
encode then keep all the informations in the nucleus of every living cell of all organism.

The example of nucleic acids: Inosine, Wybutoxosine, Pseudouridine, 2′-O-methylguanosine, Queuosine,

2′-O-methylcytidine, Dihydrouridine, N6-isopentenyladenosine, 1-methyladenosine, 1-
methylpseudouridine, 2′-O-methylpseudouridine,Beta, D-galactosylqueuosine, 2-methyladenosine, 3-
methylcytidine, 5-methylcytidine, N6-methyladenosine, 7-methylguanosine, 2,2-dimethylguanosine, 5-
methoxyuridine, 2-thiocytidine, 2-thiouridine, 4-thiouridine, 5-methyluridine, Beta, D-
mannosylqueuosine, 2′-O-methyluridine, Wybutosine, uridine-5-oxyacetic acid, and many more.

Cycloalkanes

Cycloalkanes are included into organic compounds which is also known as naphthenes. It is the
monocyclic saturated hydrocarbons which means it consists of hydrogen uses and carbon. Cycloalkanes
is somehow similar to facts about alkanes but it has higher density, boiling and melting points than
alkanes.

Furthermore, cycloalkanes can be used as a blowing agent of polyuethanes, and also be used as a
building block for other molecules in synthetic type of organic compound. The examples of this organic
chemical is Cyclopropane, Cyclobutane, Cyclopentane, Cyclohexane, Cycloheptane and Cyclooctane

Straight chain alkanes

Straight chain alkanes or simply called alkanes or parafin are also called as the example of organic
compound. Here is the straight chain and also branched alkanes and their common names of carbon
atom, (R) means it is redictered to higher alkanes: Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, Pentane, Hexane,
Heptane, Octane, Nonane, Decane, n-Undecane, n-Dodecane, n-Tridecane, n-Tetradecane, n-
Pentadecane, n-Hexadecane, n-Heptadecane, n-Octadecane, n-Nonadecane, n-Icosane, n-
Henicosane(R), n-Docosane(R), n-Tricosane(R), n-Tetracosane, n-Pentacosane(R), n-Hexacosane(R), n-
Heptacosane(R), n-Octacosane(R), n-Nonacosane, n-Triacontane(R), n-Hentriacontane, n-
Dotriacontane(R), n-Tritriacontane(R), n-Tetratriacontane(R), n-Pentatriacontane(R), n-
Hexatriacontane(R), n-Heptatriacontane, n-Octatriacontane, n-Nonatriacontane, n-Tetracontane(R)

Other common organic compounds

Other examples of organic compounds and uses:

Acid anhydrides

Acyl halides

Alcohols

Aldehydes

Alkenes

Amides
Amines

Azo compounds

Carboxylic acids

Esters

Ethers

Imines

Ketones

Nitriles,

Nitro compounds

And, Organometallic compounds, Phenols, Polymers, Thiols, Urea, Valium, Warfarin, Xylene, Xylose,
Zingiberene

More Example of products with organic chemicals

There are many examples of organic compounds and uses. Organic compounds can be found in our daily
life’s products in our home furniture, food, vehicle, skin and body treatment, Shampoo, gasoline,
perfume, lotion, drugs, food and food additives, soap, candles, natural gases, coal, wood, dyes, vitamin,
asphalt, paper, insect repellent, moth balls, synthetic fabrics such as nylon, polyester, rayon, enzymes,
nail polish remover, solvents, fertilizer and plastics

Caution notes

Some experimental operations using organic compound (synthetic type) that should have operation
limitation are vacuum distilations and photochemical reactions

Do not use extreme care with gluconse when it is working with hot water. never let the water splash to
your hands

Categories:

Organic Chemistry

Examples of Inorganic Compounds:

1. H2O - Water is a simple inorganic compound, even though it contains hydrogen, a key atom
(along with carbon) in many organic compounds. The atoms in a molecule of water have formed very
simple bonds due to this lack of carbon.

2. HCl - Hydrochloride, also known as hydrochloric acid when it is dissolved in water, is a colorless,
corrosive acid with a fairly strong pH. It is found in the gastric juices of many animals, helping in digestion
by breaking down food.

3. CO2 - Carbon dioxide, despite the presence of a carbon atom in the formula, is classified as an
inorganic compound. This has caused a dispute within the scientific community, with questions being
raised as to the validity of our current methods of classifying compounds. Currently, organic compounds
contain a carbon or a hydrocarbon, which forms a stronger bond. The bond formed by carbon in CO2 is
not a strong bond.

4. NO2 - Nitrogen dioxide gas presents a variety of colors at different temperatures. It is often
produced in atmospheric nuclear tests, and is responsible for the tell-tale reddish color displayed in
mushroom clouds. It is highly toxic, and forms fairly weak bonds between the nitrogen and oxygen
atoms.

5. Fe2O3 - Iron (III) oxide is one of the three main oxides of iron, and is an inorganic compound due
to the lack of a carbon atom or a hydrocarbon. Iron (III) oxide occurs naturally as hematite, and is the
source of most iron for the steel production industry. It is commonly known as rust, and shares a number
of characteristics with its naturally occurring counterpart.