ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
o Carbon: normally forms four covalent
• the study of the compounds of carbon.
o Organic compounds are made up of
carbon and only a few other elements.
o chief among these are hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen
o also present are sulfur, phosphorus, and
halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or
iodine)
Why is organic chemistry a separate discipline within
chemistry?
• Historical: scientists at one time believed that a
“vital force” present in living organisms was
necessary to produce an organic compound.
• The experiment of Wöhler in 1828 was the first in
a series of experiments that led to the demise of
the vital force theory.
• The sheer number of organic compounds
o Chemists have discovered or made over
10 million organic compounds and an
estimated 100,000 new ones are
discovered or made each year.
o By comparison, chemists have
discovered or made an estimated 1.7
million inorganic compounds.
o Thus, approximately 85% of all known
compounds are organic.
• The link to biochemistry
o Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins,
enzymes, nucleic acids, hormones,
vitamins, and almost all other chemicals
in living systems are organic compounds.
ORGANIC STRUCTURE
• Structural formula: shows the atoms present in
a molecule as well as the bonds that connect
them.
• VSEPR model: the most common bond angles
are 109.5°,120°, and 180°.
• Among neutral (uncharged) organic compounds:
bonds and has no unshared pairs of
electrons.
o Hydrogen: forms one covalent bond and
no unshared pairs of electrons.
o Nitrogen: normally forms three covalent
bonds and has one unshared pair of
electrons.
o Oxygen: normally forms two covalent
bonds and has two unshared pairs of
electrons.
o Halogen: normally forms one covalent
bond and has three unshared pairs of
electrons.
FUNCTIONAL GROUPS: an atom or group of atoms
within a molecule that shows a characteristic set of
predictable physical and chemical properties.
• Functional groups are important because
o They undergo the same types of
chemical reactions no matter in which
molecule they are found.
o To a large measure they determine the
chemical and physical properties of a
molecule.
o They are the units by which we divide
organic compounds into families.
o They provide the basis on which we
derive names for organic compounds.
o Six common functional
• ALCOHOL: contains an OH (hydroxyl) group
bonded to a tetrahedral carbon atom. For
example, ethanol:
• Problem: draw Lewis structures and condensed
structural formulas for the two alcohols with the
molecular formula C3H8O.
o Solution:
• AMINES: a compound containing an amino
group.
o the amino group may be primary (1°),
secondary (2°), or tertiary (3°).
• CARBOCXYLIC ACIDS: a compound containing
a -COOH (carboxyl: carbonyl + hydroxyl) group.
o In a condensed structural formula, a
carboxyl group may also be written -
CO2H.

• Problem: draw a condensed structural formula for

• Problem: draw condensed structural formulas for
the single carboxylic acid with the molecular
the two primary amines with the molecular
formula C3H6O2
formula C3H9N.
o Solution: the only way the carbon atoms
o Solution
can be written is three in a chain; the -
COOH group must be on an end carbon
of the chain.

• FUNCTIONAL GROUPS
• ALDEHYDES AND KETONES • Carboxylic ester: a derivative of a carboxylic
o Both contain a C=O (carbonyl) group. acid in which the H of the carboxyl group is
replaced by a carbon group
• Aldehyde: contains a carbonyl group bonded to
a hydrogen; in formaldehyde, the simplest
aldehyde, the carbonyl group is bonded to two
hydrogens.
• Ketone: contains a carbonyl group bonded to two
carbon atoms.

• Problem: draw condensed structural formulas for

the two aldehydes with the molecular formula
C4H8O.
o Solution:
o First draw the functional group of an
aldehyde and add the remaining three
carbons; these may be bonded in two
ways.
o Then add the seven hydrogens
necessary to complete the four bonds of
each carbon.

MADE WITH LOVE,

ANGELA MARIE BALHON (2020)