Review of organic and

inorganic chemistry
Gilbert D. Bernardino Jr
uWhat would life
be without
chemistry?
u “Without chemistry life would be
nasty, brutish, and short. With
chemistry, it can be comfortable,
entertaining, and well fed. Transport
can be efficient; clothes alluring. Lives
can be longer.” (Atkins, 2015 p.xv)
u “Greed. Greed inspired humanity to
embark on an extraordinary journey that
touches everyone today. The particular
variety of greed I have in mind was jointly
the quest for immortality and the
attainment of unbounded riches.” (Atkins,
2015 p.1)
uAtoms
uMolecules
u the number of neutrons does not affect the atomic
number

u for an atom to be electrically neutral the number of

electrons outside the nucleus must be the same as
the number of protons inside the nucleus.

u chemical reactions do not change the identities of

elements.
Isotopes
uAn isotope is a different kind of
atom of the same element where
the number of neutrons in the
nucleus varies.
u “Thekey idea in chemistry is that when
one substance changes into another, the
atoms themselves do not change: they
simply exchange partners or enter into new
arrangements. Chemistry is all about
divorce and remarriage.” (Atkins, 2015 p.3)
u “there are, of course, speckles and blotches of
black amid all this light. Chemistry has
certainly contributed to mankind’s ability to
maim and kill, and it would be inappropriate
in this survey of what chemistry is to sweep
under the carpet of its pages its provision of
explosives, of nerve gases, and its accidental
and intentional impositions on our fragile
environment.” (Atkins, 2015 p.6)
Divisions of chemistry

uPhysical
uOrganic
uInorganic
Physical chemistry

u “Physicalchemistry lies at the interface of

physics and chemistry (hence its name) and
deals with the principles of chemistry
which, as we have seen, consist largely of
quantum mechanics for explaining the
structures of atoms and molecules and
thermodynamics for assessing the role and
deployment of energy.” (Atkins, 2015 p.7)
Organic chemistry

u“Organic chemistry is the part of

chemistry that is concerned with
the compounds of carbon.”
(Atkins, 2015 p.8)
u “As a result of its mild and unaggressive
character, it is able to form chains and
rings of startling complexity. Startling
complexity is exactly what organisms need
if they are to be regarded as being alive,
and thus the compounds of carbon are the
structural and reactive infrastructure of
life.” (Atkins, 2015 p.8)
u
u “Thatleaves the rest of the elements,
the hundred or so elements other than
carbon. Their study is the domain of
inorganic chemistry.” (Atkins, 2015
p.9)
Acids

u Latinacidus: sour, sharp

u Thomas Lowry (1874–1936) and the Danish
chemist Johannes Brønsted (1879–1947)
independently proposed that an acid is any
molecule or ion that contains hydrogen
atoms that can release their proton nucleus
to another molecule or ion.
u An acid donates a proton
Bases

uArabical qaliy, the ashes, for

wood ash is a source of alkali

uA base accepts a proton

Salts

uthe general class of ionic substances

formed by the reaction of an acid and
a base
uThe mineral salts are calcium (Ca+),
phosphate (PO4-), chloride (Cl-),
sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+).
pH

upH is defined as the negative

logarithm of the hydrogen ion
concentration in a solution

upH= -log [H+]

pOH

uthe negative of the logarithm

of the OH- ion concentration.

upOH = - log [OH ]

-

upH+pOH=14
Devlin (2011)
Computing for the pH

u Findthe pH if the H+ concentration is

0.0001 moles per liter.

pH = -log[H+]
pH = - log (0.0001) = 4
Buffers
u Buffers are special substances that act as
reservoirs for hydrogen ions, donating them
to a solution when their concentration falls
and taking them from a solution when their
concentration rises. Buffers help maintain
homeostasis within cells in regard to pH
levels, keeping them fairly close to 7.

u thekey buffer in human blood is the acid-

base pair bicarbonate (a base) and carbonic
acid (an acid).
u“A buffer is an aqueous
solution that resists
changes in pH upon the
addition of an acid or a
base”.
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
Hydrocarbons and
derivatives
Hydrocarbons

ua hydrocarbon is an organic
compound consisting entirely of
hydrogen and carbon