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Chapter 1 - Covalent Bonding and Shapes of Molecules 

  • Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds.

    • The fact that most organic substances are composed of carbon and only a few additional elements—most notably, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen—is perhaps its most surprising trait.

  • Chemists have found or created over 10 million compounds including carbon and the three other elements.

  • Organic compounds can be found in a variety of products.

    • They can be found in items including foods, flavors, and fragrances; medicines, toiletries, and cosmetics; plastics, films, fibers, and resins; paints and varnishes; glues and adhesives; fuels and lubricants; and, of course, our bodies and the bodies of all living things.



  • A compact, dense nucleus of neutrons and positively charged protons make up an atom.

  • The nucleus of an atom contains the majority of its mass.

    • An extranuclear region containing negatively charged electrons surrounds the nucleus. An atom's nucleus has a diameter of 10214 to 10215 meters (m).

    • The primary quantum numbers are 1,2,3, and so on are used to identify the electron shells.

  • The electrons inhabit a substantially bigger space, with a diameter of around 10210 m, as seen in the accompanying picture.

    • Each shell may hold up to 2n2 electrons, where n is the shell number.

    • Thus, the first shell can have two electrons, the second eight, the third eighteen, the fourth 32, and so on (Table 1.1, as shown in the image attached below).

  • Electrons in the first shell are closest to and most tightly gripped by the positively charged nucleus; these electrons have the lowest energy.

    • Electrons in higher-numbered shells are retained less firmly because they are further away from the positively charged nucleus.

  • Shell: a region of space around a nucleus that can be occupied by electrons, corresponding to a principal quantum number

Chapter 1 - Covalent Bonding and Shapes of Molecules 

  • Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds.

    • The fact that most organic substances are composed of carbon and only a few additional elements—most notably, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen—is perhaps its most surprising trait.

  • Chemists have found or created over 10 million compounds including carbon and the three other elements.

  • Organic compounds can be found in a variety of products.

    • They can be found in items including foods, flavors, and fragrances; medicines, toiletries, and cosmetics; plastics, films, fibers, and resins; paints and varnishes; glues and adhesives; fuels and lubricants; and, of course, our bodies and the bodies of all living things.



  • A compact, dense nucleus of neutrons and positively charged protons make up an atom.

  • The nucleus of an atom contains the majority of its mass.

    • An extranuclear region containing negatively charged electrons surrounds the nucleus. An atom's nucleus has a diameter of 10214 to 10215 meters (m).

    • The primary quantum numbers are 1,2,3, and so on are used to identify the electron shells.

  • The electrons inhabit a substantially bigger space, with a diameter of around 10210 m, as seen in the accompanying picture.

    • Each shell may hold up to 2n2 electrons, where n is the shell number.

    • Thus, the first shell can have two electrons, the second eight, the third eighteen, the fourth 32, and so on (Table 1.1, as shown in the image attached below).

  • Electrons in the first shell are closest to and most tightly gripped by the positively charged nucleus; these electrons have the lowest energy.

    • Electrons in higher-numbered shells are retained less firmly because they are further away from the positively charged nucleus.

  • Shell: a region of space around a nucleus that can be occupied by electrons, corresponding to a principal quantum number

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