Introduction to Organic Chemistry

Organic compounds

Compounds that contain carbon atoms.

Hydrocarbons

The simplest organic compounds, can be divided into four groups.

Aliphatic

A division of hydrocarbons that includes saturated and unsaturated compounds.

Saturated aliphatic

Alkanes, compounds that have only single bonds between the carbon atoms.

Unsaturated aliphatic

Alkenes and alkynes, compounds that have double or triple bonds between the carbon atoms.

Aromatic

Carbon compounds in a ring structure.

Nomenclature

The naming system for organic compounds.

Stem

The part of the name used for all aliphatic compounds, with different endings indicating the type of compound.

Alkanes

Compounds that have only single bonds between the carbon atoms.

Alkenes

Compounds that have double bonds between the carbon atoms.

Alkynes

Compounds that have triple bonds between the carbon atoms.

Number of Carbon atoms

The number of carbon atoms in the compound.

Functional Groups

Structural fragments responsible for the classification and reactivity of organic compounds.

Alcohols

Organic compounds with a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached.

Ethers

Organic compounds with two chains of carbon and an oxygen atom in the middle.

Organic acids

Compounds with a carboxyl group, often called carboxylic acids.

Esters

Compounds similar to organic acids but with a hydrocarbon group in place of the OH's hydrogen atom.

Aldehydes

Compounds related to esters by having an O-R'=H atom.

Ketones

Compounds related to esters by having the O-R' replaced with an R'.

Amines

Compounds based on ammonia where one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced with an organic group.

Halocarbons

Carbon chains that contain halogen atoms.

Cycloalkanes

Saturated ring compounds with carbon-to-carbon single bonds.

Aromatic Compounds

Compounds containing single or multiple rings, with the simplest being benzene.

Isomers

Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas.

Ortho

Prefix indicating a position of 1 and 2 on a benzene ring.

Meta

Prefix indicating a position of 1 and 3 on a benzene ring.

Para

Prefix indicating a position of 1 and 4 on a benzene ring.