organic chemistry

carbon

can form 4 strong datable bonds. can form stable double and triple bonds. allows for a huge number of 3D structures to be formed. it is a non metal.

valency

number of chemical bonds formed by the atoms of a given element

hybridisation

the mixing of atomic orbitals to produce an equivalent number of hybrid orbitals, these hybrid orbitals are energetically more favourable for bonding purposes.

sigma bond

a single bind between two atoms, it contains two electrons one from each mutually bonded atom. these two electrons share a common bonding orbital.

hydrocarbons

contain only C and H atoms, can be acyclic(chains) or cyclic(rings), the basic structral unit of organic chemistry aliphatic hydrocarbons a

aliphatic hydrocarbons

are hydrocarbons that do not contain aromatic components.

functional group

an atom or group of atoms that is part of a larger molecule and has a characteristic reactivity. they determine chemical behavure and properties.

nucleophiles

electron rich reagent(there the mechanism starts) that forms a bond by donating a e- pair than e- poor site eg. -OH

electrophiles

electron deficient reagent that forms a bind by accepting an e- pair from a nucleophile eg. H+

organic reaction mechanism

a complete, step by step account of how a reaction of organic compounds take place.

octet rule

states that elements in the second row of the periodic table cannot have more than 8 valance electrons around them, where as non-bonding electrons or chemical bonds. ( carbon can only have 4 bonds)

carbonyl group

one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry as it has a rich repertoire of activity, they may act as electrophiles or nucleophiles.