Unit 6: Organic Chemistry Flashcards
(33 cards)
What element is the backbone of organic chemistry?
Carbon.
Why is carbon special in organic compounds?
It can form stable bonds with many elements and itself.
What are hydrocarbons?
Compounds made entirely of carbon and hydrogen.
What are the three types of hydrocarbons?
Alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes.
What are aromatic compounds?
Cyclic hydrocarbons with delocalized pi electrons, e.g., benzene.
What is a functional group?
An atom or group of atoms that gives a molecule characteristic properties.
What is the general structure of an alcohol?
R–OH.
What is the general structure of an alkyl halide?
R–X, where X is a halogen.
What is the general structure of an aldehyde?
R–CHO.
What is the general structure of a ketone?
R–CO–R’.
What is the general structure of a carboxylic acid?
R–COOH.
What is the general structure of an ester?
R–COOR’.
What is a Newman projection used for?
Visualizing different conformations of molecules.
What is torsional strain?
Increased energy from eclipsed conformations.
What is steric strain?
Repulsion from atoms being too close in space.
What is a constitutional isomer?
Compounds with the same formula but different connectivity.
What is chirality?
A property of a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image.
What is a chiral center?
A carbon bonded to four different groups.
What are enantiomers?
Non-superimposable mirror images.
What are diastereomers?
Stereoisomers that are not mirror images.
What is a meso compound?
A compound with chiral centers but is achiral due to symmetry.
What system is used to name chiral centers?
R/S system.
What system is used to name alkene stereoisomers?
E/Z system.
What is nucleophilic substitution?
A reaction where a nucleophile replaces a leaving group.
