Biochem: Connecting Carbons

Biochem Midterm Defintions

Ability of carbon to form bonds with other elements or itself, including single, double, and triple bonds.

Bonding properties of carbon (Clue: Main reason organic chemistry has so many compounds)

Number of covalent bonds an atom can form.

Covalency number (Clue: For carbon it’s 4, for oxygen it’s 2, etc.)

Covalency number of carbon.

4 (Clue: Tetravalent — can bond to four other atoms)

Covalency number of oxygen.

2 (Clue: Think of water — oxygen bonds to two hydrogens)

Covalency number of hydrogen.

1 (Clue: Only needs one bond to be stable)

Covalency number of bromine.

7 valence electrons / covalency often 1 (Clue: Halogen group — one bond to be stable)

Covalency number of nitrogen.

3 (Clue: Think ammonia — nitrogen bonds to three hydrogens)

Type of bond formed between carbon and hydrogen.

Carbon–Hydrogen bond (Clue: Found in almost every organic compound)

Type of bond formed between carbon and halogens like Cl, Br, I.

Carbon–Halogen bond (Clue: Found in alkyl halides)

Bond between two carbon atoms that may be single, double, or triple.

Carbon–Carbon bond (Clue: Basis of carbon chains and rings)

Combination of carbon bonded to hydrogen and halogen atoms.

Carbon–Hydrogen–Halogen bond combination (Clue: Example: CH₃Br)

Formula that shows the actual number of each type of atom in a molecule.

Molecular formula (Clue: Example: C₂H₆)

Formula that shows how atoms are connected in a molecule.

Structural formula (Clue: Every bond is drawn out)

Formula that shows atoms in a simplified arrangement without showing every bond.

Condensed structural formula (Clue: Example: CH₃CH₂CH₃ for propane)

Formula that uses lines to represent bonds and omits carbon/hydrogen symbols.

Skeletal/line formula (Clue: Zig-zag lines where each corner is a carbon)

Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures.

Isomers (Clue: Same “ingredients,” different arrangement)

Example of structural isomers where arrangement of carbon atoms differs.

Butane and isobutane (Clue: Both are C₄H₁₀)

Example of isomers where the location of the double bond differs.

Double bond position isomers (Clue: Example: 1-butene vs 2-butene)

Compounds with identical structure and bonding, not isomers.

Same compounds (Clue: Same molecular and structural formula)