Organic Compounds - (Organic/Nuclear Chemistry)

Organic compounds

Covalently bonded compounds containing carbon, excluding carbonates and oxides

Catenation

Covalent bonding of an element to itself to form chains or rings

Results of diversity of organic compounds results

Uniqueness of carbon’s structure and bonding

Carbon atoms uniqueness

In their ability to form long chains and rings of covalently bonded atoms

Hydrocarbons

Composed of only carbon and hydrogen; they are the simplest organic compounds

Besides being able to bind to each other,

Carbon atoms bind readily to elements with similar electronegativities

Isomers

Compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structures

Structural formula

Indicates the number and types of atoms present in a molecule and also shows the bonding arrangement of the atoms

A structural formula does not accurately show

The three-dimensional shape of the molecule

Structural isomers (constitutional isomers)

Isomers in which the atoms are bonded together in different orders

Butane melting point (C)

-138.4

Butane boiling point (C)

-0.5

Butane density at 20 degrees C (g/mL)

0.5788

2-methylpropane melting point (C)

-159.4

2-methylpropane boiling point (C)

-11.633

2-methylpropane density at 20 degrees C (g/mL)

0.549

Geometric isomers

Isomers in which the order of atom bonding is the same but the arrangement of atoms in space is different

Cis

Geometric isomer with two chlorine atoms of the same side of the molecule

Trans

Isomer with the chlorine atoms on opposite sides of the molecule

Difference in properties between two geometric isomers

Can be very small or very large

Sometimes, the arrangement of atoms in the trans formation

Enables the molecules to pack together more easily and so increases the melting point of the isomer

If the trans arrangement increases the intramolecular between two molecules

The boiling point of that isomer will be higher since molecules will be held together more strongly (as consequence of the polarity of the bonds)