Module 4: Section 1 - Basic Concepts and Hydrocarbons Flashcards
(40 cards)
What is organic chemistry?
Organic chemistry is the study of substances that contain carbon atoms.
Why is this branch of chemistry known as Organic Chemistry?
All living things are made up from carbon compounds, and so this branch of chemistry was historically known as organic chemistry (organic = made from plants and animals).
The main source of organic compounds are living, or once or once living materials from plants and animals. However it has been discovered that these carbon compounds could also be made in the lab from non-living materials-chemicals.
What does modern organic chemistry study?
Modern organic chemistry studies the structure, properties, composition, reactions and preparation of carbon-containing compounds.
Why is the study and practice of organic chemistry important?
Carbon compounds are vital in every area of modern life: pharmaceuticals, detergents, dyes and pigments, cosmetics, plastics, and agricultural chemicals are all organic compounds - they all contain the element carbon.
Other than carbon, what elements are present in organic compounds?
In addition to carbon, organic compounds commonly contain H, together with smaller amounts of O (oxygen), N (nitrogen) or S (sulphur), amongst other elements.
The number of different combinations of these atoms means there is a huge variety of organic molecules possible, ranging from drugs such as aspirin to material such as plastics.
Name one source of organic compounds.
Today, the vast majority of organic compounds used are produced from fractions of crude oil.
Where is crude oil found?
Crude oil is a finite resource found under the ground in rocks.
What is crude oil made from?
Crude oil is the remains of dead plants and animals mainly consisting mainly of plankton that was buried in mud.
What is the structure of crude oil?
Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons.
Define hydrocarbon.
A hydrocarbon is a compound containing hydrogen and carbon only.
So C10 H22 (decade, an alkane) is a hydrocarbon, but CH3 COOC3 H7 (an ester) is not- it contains oxygen.
What is the structure of carbon?
why’s it so special?
- Carbon is in group four of the periodic table, with four electrons in its outer shell.
- Each carbon atom can form four covalent bonds to other atoms. These can be single, double and even triple bonds.
- Carbon atoms can bond to other carbon atoms to form long chains.
What are the two forms of hydrocarbons?
Hydrocarbons can be saturated or unsaturated.
What is a saturated hydrocarbon?
A saturated hydrocarbon has single bonds only.
What is an unsaturated hydrocarbon?
An unsaturated hydrocarbon contains one or more carbon-to-carbon double (or triple) bonds.
What does nomenclature mean?
All nomenclature means is naming the molecules using specific rules.
What is nomenclature?
The system used for naming organic compounds.
Why is nomenclature so important?
As there are so many organic compounds a universal system of naming organic molecules is needed to keep track of them all.
IUPAC is an organisation that was founded in 1919 by chemists from industry and education who recognised the need for standardisation of the names of compounds.
This means that chemists across the globe can communicate clearly.
What is a functional group?
A functional group is the part of the organic molecule that is largely responsible for the molecule’s chemical properties.
Do all organic molecules contain the same functional group?
No.
In addition to hydrogen, carbon can bond to other elements, including oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens. This results in the formation of molecules containing different functional groups, such as alcohol and amine groups.
How are organic compounds organised?
Carbon compounds are so numerous that it is convenient to organise them into families of compounds with similar chemical structures and properties.
Define homologous series.
A series of organic compounds having the same functional group but with each successive member differing by CH2.
Explain what a homologous series is?
- An homologous series is a family of organic compounds that have the same functional group, but different carbon chain length.
- Each member of the series differs from the next by one CH2 unit.
- The members have similar chemical properties, and the physical properties such as melting and boiling points increase gradually as the size (and hence the intermolecular forces) increases.
What are the majority of hydrocarbons in crude oil called?
Most of the hydrocarbons in crude oil are called alkanes.
What is the simplest homologous series?
The simplest homologous series is the alkanes.
Alkanes contain single carbon-to-carbon bonds.
