Organic Chemistry Flashcards

Functional Groups

• Functional Group: An atom or group of atoms responsible for the specific properties of an organic compound.
• Compounds with the same functional group undergo similar chemical reactions.

Classes of Organic Compounds

• Alcohol: Contains one or more hydroxyl groups (—OH).
  • Uses: Moisturizers (glycerol), alternative fuels (ethanol).
• Alkyl Halides: One or more halogen atoms substituted for hydrogen atoms (—X, where X = F, Cl, Br, I).
  • CFCs contribute to ozone destruction.
• Ether: Two hydrocarbon groups bonded to the same oxygen atom (R—O—R').
• Aldehydes: Carbonyl group attached to a carbon atom at the end of a carbon-atom chain.
  • Functional Group: Carbonyl group
• Ketone: Carbonyl group attached to carbon atoms within the chain.
  • Functional Group: —C—
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    O
• Amine: Derivatives of ammonia (NH3).
  • Functional Group: —N—
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• Carboxylic Acids: Contain the carboxyl functional group (—C—OH).
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  O
• Ester: Carboxylic acid groups with the hydroxyl hydrogen replaced by an alkyl group (—C—O—).
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  O

Hydrocarbons

• Hydrocarbons contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Saturated Hydrocarbons

• Each carbon atom forms four single covalent bonds.

Alkanes

• Hydrocarbons with only single bonds.
• Formula: CnH{2n+2}
• Alkanes with four or more carbon atoms have structural isomers (straight or branched).

Cycloalkanes

• Alkanes in a ring structure.
• Formula: CnH{2n}
• Have two fewer hydrogen atoms than noncyclic alkanes.

Alkyl group (branch)

• Formed when one hydrogen atom is removed from an alkane molecule.
• Named by replacing the suffix –ane with –yl.

Systematic Naming of Alkanes

1. Find the longest continuous chain of carbons that have straight-chain branches
2. Add the names of the alkyl groups in alphabetical order, with prefixes (di, tri, tetra) if needed.
3. Number the carbon atoms to give the lowest possible numbers in the name. Give the lowest number to the alkyl group that comes first alphabetically, before prefixes are added.
4. Insert position numbers of each alkyl group in front of the name of that group
5. Use hyphens to separate the position numbers from the names and commas to separate the numbers.

Properties of Alkanes

• Nonpolar; weak London dispersion forces.
• Boiling points increase with molecular mass.
• Smaller alkanes (1-4 carbon atoms) are gases; larger alkanes are liquids (gasoline, kerosene); very large alkanes are solids (wax).

Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

• Not all carbon atoms have four single covalent bonds; contain double or triple bonds.

Alkenes

• Contain double covalent bonds.
• Formula: CnH{2n}
• Can have geometric isomers (cis and trans).

Alkynes

• Contain triple covalent bonds.
• Formula: CnH{2n-2}

Systematic Naming of Alkenes/Alkynes

• Rules similar to alkanes.
• Parent hydrocarbon is the longest chain containing the multiple bond.
• Number carbon atoms so the multiple bond has the lowest number.
• Suffixes indicate the number of multiple bonds (diene, triene, diyne, triyne).

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

• Have six-membered carbon rings and delocalized electrons.
• Benzene (C6H6) is the primary aromatic hydrocarbon.

Organic Compounds

• Compounds containing carbon (excluding carbonates and oxides).
• Carbon can bind to itself (catenation), other elements, and in different arrangements.

Isomers

• Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and properties.

Structural Isomers

• Atoms bonded together in different orders.
• Can have different physical/chemical properties.

Geometric Isomers

• Order of atom bonding is the same, but arrangement in space differs (cis/trans).
• trans increases the intra molecular forces between two molecules
• increase the melting point or the boiling point of the isomer, because the molecules are held together more strongly.