INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

WHAT IS ORGANIC CHEMISTRY?

= Is the study of Carbon compounds and mostly hydrogen (hydrocarbons)
except CO, CO2, carbonates, hydrogencarbonates, carbides and cyanides
= obtained from natural sources or synthesized in laboratories

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CARBON?

Unique Nature of Carbon

1. Ability to form 4 strong covalent bonds

Each carbon atom has four (4) unpaired electrons when excited
which allows it to form 4 covalent bonds

2. Ability to CATENATE
Catenate is the ability of atoms to form stable bonds with itself
Self-linking property

3. Ability to form MULTIPLE BONDS

ORGANIC VS. INORGANIC compounds

TH
18 Century
organic compounds = compounds obtained from plants and animals
inorganic compounds = Compounds isolated from nonliving systems, such as rocks and ores, the
atmosphere, and the oceans

VITAL FORCE THEORY

only living organisms could make organic compounds because they possessed a vital force found
only in living systems.

theory lost following when German chemist Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea from inorganic
starting materials.
He reacted silver cyanate (AgOCN) and ammonium chloride (NH Cl), expecting to get ammonium
cyanate, instead, he made urea, an organic compound 4
 Organic Compounds

Open chain/ Aliphatic/Alicyclic Closed chain/ Cyclic

Compounds Compounds

Saturated Unsaturated Homocyclic/Carbocyclic Heterocyclic

Alicyclic Aromatic
Alicyclic Aromatic
Benzenoid Non- Benzenoid

ALIPHATIC (open-chained compounds)

these are compounds in which carbon atoms are attached in the form of branches or straight chain
a. SATURATED
carbon- carbon attached via SINGLE BOND C-C
ex: Alkanes (CnH2n+2)
b. UNSATURATED
compounds wherein at least one DOUBLE BOND/TRIPLE BOND is present between carbon to
carbon bond
ex. Alkenes (CnH2n) C=C
Alkynes (CnH2n-2) C=C
CYCLIC (closed-chained compounds)
these are compounds which contain cyclic structure (ring-like)
a. HOMOCYCLIC
cyclic compounds in which the ring-forming atoms are ONLY carbon
ex: Carboxylic compounds
1. ALICYCLIC
>carbon compounds attached in closed structure but do not have aromatic character.
>can be saturated or unsaturated
2. AROMATIC
>cyclic compounds which behave as a benzene and follows HUCKEL’s RULE of aromaticity.
HUCKEL’s RULE =if a cyclic, planar molecule has 4n+2 π electrons, it is considered aromatic.

b. HETEROCYCLIC
cyclic compounds in which at least one heteroatom (i.e atom other than carbon e.g N, O, S) is present
as one of the ring forming atom

HYDROCARBONS
simplest organic compounds
contain only Carbon and Hydrogen
alkanes, alkenes, alkynes

ALCOHOLS
if a HYDROXYL GROUP (OH) is substituted for the hydrogen atom in a hydrocarbon molecule
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
a carbon atom is double-bonded to an oxygen atom and to an OH group (CARBOXYLIC GROUP) .
ALCOHOL AND CARBOXYLIC ACID = C H and O

hydroxyl group

HOMOLOGOUS SERIES

A homologous series is a family of compounds with the same general formula, same functional
group and similar chemical properties.
Members of homologous families differ from each other by CH2

Example: Alkanes (CnH2n+2) where n is the number of carbon atoms

Methane (CH4) ethane(C2H6) propane (C3H8) butane (C4H10)

Organic compounds in the same homologous series have the following characteristics:
Same general formula
Same functional group
Similar chemical properties but varying in reactivity
Physical properties vary gradually along the series

FUNCTIONAL GROUPS
• A functional group is an atom or group of atoms that gives a compound its characteristic chemical
properties.
• Organic compounds in the same homologous series have similar chemical properties due to the
same functional group. Example: OH (hydroxyl group) , C00H (carboxyl group)
• Attached to the carbon backbone of an organic molecule
Formula of organic compounds

molecular Actual number of atoms of each CH4, C2H3

element in a molecule
Empirical Simplest ratio number of atoms of C4H10 = C2H5
each element in a molecule. C6H14 = C3H7
Structural Shows all atoms in the bonds, Bonds are
represented as line

Condensed Shorthand way of writing Molecular formula Propane = CH3CH2CH3

Bondline Represent structure between carbon-
carbon bonds.

Ball and stick sticks between the spheres represent three-

dimensional models where spheres of
different colors and bonds represent atoms.

ISOMERISM
• the phenomenon in which more than one compounds have the same MOLECULAR formula but
different STRUCTURAL formula.

• ISOMERS
compounds with the same molecular formula but different arrangement of atoms or structures

IUPAC CLASSIFICATION
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
A system of naming compounds in chemistry to establish an international standard of naming
compounds to facilitate communication

Naming of organic compound according to IUPAC system

1. Find the longest continuous carbon chain

2. Determine the root name for this parent chain
3. Number the chain in the direction such that the position number of the first substituent is the smaller
number
4. If the first substituents from either end have the same number, then number so that the second
substituent has the smaller number
5. Determine the name and the position number of each substituent
6. Indicate the number of identical groups by the prefixes di, tri, tetra , etc
7. Place the position numbers and the names of the substituent groups in alphabetical order, before the
root name

2 - MethylButane