Chapter 8 · Chemistry
Organic Chemistry: Chapter Introduction
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Paracetamol, plastic, cotton and DNA share one element: carbon. Why carbon forms millions of compounds, and what this chapter teaches.
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Wöhler's Urea and the End of Vital ForceChemists once believed only living things could make organic compounds. In 1828 Friedrich Wöhler heated an inorganic salt and made urea.Chemistry
Key points
- Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds: medicines, plastics, cotton and DNA are all examples.
- Carbon compounds number in the millions, so they have a whole branch of chemistry.
- Carbon forms 4 covalent bonds (tetravalency); methane, CH₄, is tetrahedral.
- Catenation: carbon atoms bond to each other to form long chains and rings.
- This chapter teaches how to draw and name molecules, how electrons move in reactions, and how to purify and analyse compounds.
What this chapter covers
| Part | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Draw & name | Shapes, structural formulas, functional groups, IUPAC names, isomerism |
| Electrons move | Bond fission, reactive intermediates, electrophiles and nucleophiles, electronic effects |
| Purify & analyse | Crystallisation, distillation, chromatography, Lassaigne's test, estimation |
Quick quiz
3 questions. Choose an answer for each, then submit to see your score and the explanations.
More from Organic Chemistry – Some Basic Principles and Techniques
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Functional GroupsTwo molecules can share the same carbon chain and still behave differently. How one small group of atoms gives a compound its chemical identity: –OH, –CHO, C=O, –COOH and –NH₂.Chemistry · simulation
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IUPAC Naming: Root, Suffix and PrefixHow a chemical name is built from a molecule: the root counts the parent chain's carbons, the suffix gives its bonds and principal group, and the prefix names what is attached.Chemistry · simulation