What is Organic Chemistry?

Organic Chemistry

Study of molecules that have carbon atoms

Catenates

Bonds to itself

Organic

Means “derived from living things”

Jons Jacob Berzelius

Coined the term “organic chemistry”

Organic Chemistry (Back then)

• Referred to the study of chemical compounds extracted from living things.

• We thought that organic compounds could only be harvested from living things.

Friedrich Wohler

Discovered that an inorganic salt, ammonium cyanate, could be used to make urea without a living organism.

Organic Chemistry (Today)

• The study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds.

• This definition includes chemicals extracted from living things, but also man made polymers, like plastics.

Organic chemistry is _________

carbon-centric

Lewis Structure

• Illustrates what atoms are connected.

• Show all of the bonds and lone pairs of electrons in a molecule.

Molecular Formula

• Tells us the atoms we have and how many of each atom there is.

• Doesn’t tell us what’s bonded to what.

Condensed Structural Formula

Skeletal Formula

Skeletal Formulas

• Carbons are the bends or the ends of the lines

• Hydrogens aren’t shown because carbon atoms in most organic compounds have 4 bonds, so the number of hydrogen needed to give each carbon 4 bonds is implied

• Makes it easier for us to focus on the parts of an organic structure that are non-carbon atoms or have double or triple bonds

Heteroatoms

Any atom that is not carbon or hydrogen