Introduction to Organic Chemistry - Online Tutor, Practice Problems & Exam Prep

• Organic chemistry studies carbon-containing compounds
• Hydrocarbons are organic compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen
• Organic compounds can also contain oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and halogens
• Examples of organic compounds include propane, ethanol, caffeine, and Danial
• The structural diversity of organic compounds is due to carbon's high bond energy and short bond length
• Carbon can create chains, branched structures, and rings in organic compounds
• Straight chain hydrocarbons have carbons in a straight line with only hydrogen branching off
• Branched hydrocarbons have carbons in a straight line with branching groups off the main chain
• Ring hydrocarbons have carbons bonded in a cyclic or ring structure
• Organic chemistry deals with reactions involving hydrogen in compounds

Introduction to Organic Chemistry

Hey everyone, so in this video we're going to take a look at understanding organic chemistry. Now organic chemistry is a study of structure, properties and reactions of carbon containing compounds. Now a key feature of organic compounds is that they possess carbon single bonded to carbons and carbons single bonded to hydrogen bonds.

Here we're going to say that hydrocarbons, our organic compounds that contain only carbons and hydrogens and many organic compounds can also contain other types of elements, including oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and the halogens. Below we just have some typical types of organic compounds. Now for the first one, we're talking about propane. Propane is a hydrocarbon, meaning it's made-up of only carbons and hydrogens. Here the three carbons in the center would be surrounded by hydrogens, propane.

We can find propane within propane tanks, which are used for barbecues and other things that we use in everyday life. Here. Next we have ethanol. Ethanol possesses an oxygen. Now, like before, we have carbons connected to hydrogens. But now we also have the inclusion of an OH group. Ethanol is a key organic compound that we find in wine.

Next we have the molecule for caffeine. We can see that this one is even more complex. We have carbons, nitrogens. We have double bonds here, here, here, here we have nitrogens. So caffeine is a component, important component of coffee. And then finally here we have geranium here. That's an important organic compound that we find in roses. This also contains double bonds, also has another OH group and as usual a bunch of carbons connected to carbons and carbon hydrogen bonds.

So just remember when we're talking about organic chemistry we're talking about reactions dealing with compounds containing hydrogen. A key feature of many organic compounds is carbons connected to carbons and carbons connected to hydrogen's and sometimes sprinkled in other types of elements.

Introduction to Organic Chemistry Example

Which of the following is an organic compound? Remember, a key feature of an organic compound is the presence of carbon connected to carbon and also carbon connected to hydrogen.

If we take a look at A we don't have any carbons, we have no hydrogens. The same thing can be said for B&C. The answer here is option D. That's because we have carbon hydrogen bonds. We have carbon carbon bonds. We also have carbon connected to this OH group.

But remember, the fundamental thing we have to think about when it comes to many organic compounds is the presence of carbon carbon bonds and carbon hydrogen bonds, which this has.

Tetrachloroethane (C₂H₂Cl₄) has been used as an industrial solvent to produce paint removers and pesticides. It is classified as an organic compound. Which feature of this molecule makes it organic?

• A. C–Cl bond
• B. H–Cl bond
• C. C–H bond
• D. Cl–Cl bond

Structural Diversity

When it comes to organic compounds, we can see that they have a lot of structural diversity. Now here we can say this is a result of carbon. Carbon can make very stable carbon-carbon bonds due to high bond energy and short bond length. This leads to the formation of chains, branched structures, and rings in organic compounds.

So here let's just take a look at some of these examples of structural diversity. So if we take a look here, we have a hydrocarbon. It's composed of only carbons and hydrogens. It is a straight chain. So we have these four carbons in a chain together and they just have these hydrogens branching off of them. Well, they're not branching groups, they're coming off of the carbon. The carbons themselves are a straight chain.

Now if we take a look at the next one, we have these carbons in a straight chain and now we have a carbon that's off of the main chain, that's a branching group. Here we'd have this Chapter 3 portion as a branching group. And then finally we have a ring where the four carbons, they form a square. Here they form a cyclic or ring structure.

So remember carbon-carbon bonds can happen and form these different types of structurally diverse molecules or compounds because of high bond energy and short bond length.

Introduction to Organic Chemistry Example

In this example question, it says which of the following statements is incorrect about structural diversity of organic compounds. A carbon can form strong double and triple bonds. That's true. We can do that. Small atomic radius of carbon ensures sufficient orbital overlap to form strong bonds. So small atomic radius would lead to small or short bond length. We said that this is one of the key features that leads to structural diversity when it comes to carbon carbon bonds. So this is true.

Carbon conform stable chains up to 12 atoms. Only not once did we talk about there being a limit to the number of carbons we can have within the chain. So this statement here is not correct. So this would be our answer. Now if we look at D, organic compounds contain containing other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur are very common. We've seen that when it comes to organic compounds, the key feature is a carbon carbon bond and a carbon hydrogen bond.

But we also know that our organic compounds can contain other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur or the halogens. These are pretty common within nature and within labs. So here option D is correct. Including these other elements leads to greater structural diversity, so here option C would be our final answer.

Which of the following compounds has the most branched structure?

• A.
• B.
• C.
• D.