Chapter 2: Families of Carbon Compounds - Functional Groups & Intermolecular Forces

Vocabulary flashcards covering key organic chemistry definitions, compound classes, functional groups, dipole moments, and intermolecular forces from Chapter 2 lecture notes.

Hydrocarbons

Compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Alkanes

Hydrocarbons that do not have multiple bonds between carbon atoms.

Alkenes

Hydrocarbons that contain at least one carbon–carbon double bond.

Alkynes

Hydrocarbons that contain at least one carbon–carbon triple bond.

Aromatic Compounds

Compounds containing a special type of ring, the most common example of which is a benzene ring.

$$\beta\text{-Pinene}$$

A naturally occurring alkene that serves as a component of turpentine.

Capillin

A naturally occurring alkyne that functions as an antifungal agent.

Dactylyne

A naturally occurring alkyne that acts as an inhibitor of pentobarbital metabolism.

Benzene Carbon–Carbon Bond Length

The uniform bond length of $1.39\,\text{\AA}$ between all carbon atoms in a benzene ring, situated between a standard C–C single bond ($1.54\,\text{\AA}$) and a C=C double bond ($1.34\,\text{\AA}$).

Electronegativity (EN)

The intrinsic ability of an atom to attract the shared electrons in a covalent bond, measured on an arbitrary scale with Fluorine ($\text{EN} = 4.0$) as the most electronegative and Cesium ($\text{EN} = 0.7$) as the least.

Debye (D)

The unit used to express dipole moments, defined as $1\,\text{D} = 3.336 \times 10^{-30}\,\text{C}\cdot\text{m}$ in SI units.

Functional Groups

Common and specific arrangements of atoms that impart predictable reactivity and properties to a molecule.

Phenyl Group

An aromatic group derived from benzene, designated by the symbol $\text{Ph}$ or formula $\text{C}_6\text{H}_5$.

Benzyl Group

A functional group consisting of a benzene ring attached to a $\text{CH}_2$ group, designated by the symbol $\text{Bn}$ or formula $\text{C}_6\text{H}_5\text{CH}_2$.

Melting Point

The temperature at which an equilibrium exists between the well-ordered crystalline state and the more random liquid state of a substance.

Intermolecular Forces (van der Waals Forces)

Electrical forces that act between molecules, which include dipole-dipole forces, hydrogen bonds, and dispersion forces.

Dipole-Dipole Forces

Intermolecular attractions that occur between polar molecules.

Hydrogen Bond

A dipole-dipole attraction between a hydrogen atom bonded to a small, strongly electronegative atom ($\text{O}$, $\text{N}$, or $\text{F}$) and a nonbonding electron pair on another such electronegative atom, with dissociation energies of about $4\,\text{kJ}\cdot\text{mol}^{-1}\text{ to }38\,\text{kJ}\cdot\text{mol}^{-1}$.

Dispersion Forces (London Forces)

Attractive intermolecular forces present between nonpolar molecules created by temporary, non-uniform distributions of electrons that induce temporary opposite dipoles in surrounding molecules.

Polarizability

The relative ease with which the electron cloud of an atom or molecule can be distorted, where larger atoms with loosely held electrons (such as iodine) are more easily polarized than smaller atoms (such as fluorine).

Boiling Point

The temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure of the atmosphere above it.

Hydrophobic

Characterized as being incompatible with water.

Hydrophilic

Characterized as being compatible with water.

Water Solubility Criterion for Organic Compounds

The standard defining an organic compound as water soluble if at least $3\,\text{g}$ of the compound dissolves in $100\,\text{mL}$ of water.