Organic Chemistry: Structure and Bonding

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering fundamental concepts in organic chemistry, specifically focusing on atomic structure, hybridization, bonding theories, and molecular representations.

Organic Chemistry

The study of carbon compounds, including their structure, properties, and reactions.

Atom

The basic unit of a chemical element, consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Atomic Number (Z)

The number of protons in an atom's nucleus.

Mass Number (A)

The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

Hybridization

The mixing of atomic orbitals to form new hybrid orbitals suitable for the pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds.

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.

Valence Electrons

Electrons in the outermost shell of an atom that participate in chemical bonding.

σ Bond

A covalent bond formed by the direct overlap of atomic orbitals.

π Bond

A covalent bond formed by the sideways overlap of p orbitals.

Electron Configuration

The distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals.

Lone Pair

A pair of valence electrons that are not shared with another atom.

Lewis Structure

A diagram showing the bonding between atoms and the lone pairs of electrons in a molecule.

Resonance

The representation of a molecule that cannot be adequately depicted by a single structural formula.

Tetrahedral Structure

A molecular shape where a central atom is bonded to four other atoms, with bond angles of about 109.5 degrees.

Skeletal Structure

A simplified representation of a molecular structure where carbon atoms are not depicted explicitly.

Molecular Orbital Theory

A theory that describes the electronic structure of molecules in terms of molecular orbitals, which are formed from the linear combination of atomic orbitals.

Aufbau Principle

The rule that electrons occupy the lowest-energy orbitals first before filling higher-energy orbitals.

Pauli Exclusion Principle

A principle stating that no two electrons in an atom can have the same set of quantum numbers.

Hund's Rule

A rule that states that electrons will occupy degenerate orbitals singly first, with parallel spins, before pairing up.

Valence Shell

The outermost shell of an atom that contains its valence electrons.