GENERAL CHEMISTRY II

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Chemists in the early 19th century knew living things produced a variety of carbon compounds, called
“organic” compounds. They were not able to synthesize them in the lab and labeled them as mysterious.
Wöhler was the first to produce an organic compound in the lab.
Organic compound is applied to all carbon-containing compounds with the primary exceptions of carbon
oxides, carbides, and carbonates, which are considered inorganic. Organic compounds are group of compounds that
contain the element carbon. Organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen combined with other elements
namely oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, and halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine)
What makes Carbon a unique element?
Many organic compounds are formed because of the special characteristics of the element carbon. A
carbon atom has four (4) valence electrons. This kind of atomic structure makes the carbon atom able to form four
covalent bonds with atoms of other elements and other carbon atoms. Carbon atoms can also make many types of
arrangements: single bond, double bond, and triple bond. With these abilities of the carbon atoms, chemical bonds
between carbon atoms and other elements can form different kinds of compounds with short and long straight and
branched chained structures. There are thousands of hydrocarbons.

HYDROCARBONS
Carbon atoms bond to each other by single, double, and triple bonds.
1. Saturated hydrocarbons contain only single bonds.
2. Unsaturated hydrocarbons contain at least one double or triple bond.

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen atoms only. Hydrocarbons such
as methane, ethane and butane are components of natural gas. Hydrocarbons are grouped into families
namely, alkanes, alkenes and alkynes.

Many hydrocarbons are

obtained from the fossil
fuel petroleum.
Fractional distillation
involves boiling
petroleum and collecting
each group of
components as they
condense at different
temperatures.
Fractional distillation
towers do not yield
fractions in proportion to
demand.

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 o Heavier fractions are converted to gasoline or other lighter fractions by a process called cracking.
o Gasoline is not a pure substance.
o Most molecules have 5 to 12 carbons.
o Gasoline is modified by adjusting its composition to improve performance, resulting in the octane
rating system.

IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry): an international group that aids
communication between chemists by setting rules and standards in areas such as chemical
nomenclature, terminology, and standardized methods

Straight-Chain Alkanes
Alkanes are hydrocarbons that have only single bonds between atoms.

 The names of
alkanes end in –ane.
 The general formula
for alkanes is
(CnH2n+2)
 Prefixes are derived
from Greek
numbers.
 A series of
compounds that
differ from one
another by a
repeating unit is
called a homologous
series.

Carbon atoms can bond to one, two, three, or four other carbon atoms making a variety of chains possible.
Straight chains and branched chains can have the same molecular formula. Order and arrangement of atoms in
organic compounds determine their identities. When naming branched chain alkanes, the longest continuous chain
of carbon atoms is called the parent chain. All the side branches are known as substituent groups.

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Branched-Chain Alkanes (cont.)
Naming branched-chain alkanes
− Count the number of carbon atoms in the longest continuous chain.
− Number each carbon in the parent chain.
− Name each alkyl group substituent.
− If the same alkyl group appears more than once as a branch on the parent structure, use a prefix to indicate
how many times it appears.
− When different alkyl groups are attached to the same parent chain, place their names in alphabetical order.
− Write the entire name, using hyphens to separate numbers from words and commas to separate numbers.

Cycloalkanes
An organic compound that contains a hydrocarbon ring is called a cyclic
hydrocarbon.
Cyclic hydrocarbons with only single bonds are called cycloalkanes.

Naming substituted cycloalkanes is the same as straight-chains but with a few

exceptions.
− The ring is always considered the parent chain.
− Numbering starts on the carbon that is bonded to the substituent.
− When more than one carbon has a substituent, number in the direction
that gives the lowest possible numbers for the substituents.

Properties of Alkanes
Structure affects molecular properties.
Alkanes are not polar and are good solvents for other nonpolar molecules.

Physical properties of alkanes

− Compared to water, methane boils
and melts and lower
temperatures.
− Methane molecules have little
intermolecular attraction
compared to water.

Chemical Properties of Alkanes

− Alkanes have low reactivity because they are nonpolar and have no charge, and because they have strong
single bonds between carbon atoms.

ALKENES AND ALKYNES

Alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain at least one double bond, and alkynes are hydrocarbons that
contain at least one triple bond.
− Unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain at least one or more double covalent bonds between carbon atoms
are called alkenes.
− The general formula of alkenes in (CnH2n)
− Alkenes are named in much the same way as alkanes.

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 − Alkenes end in –ene.
− When four or more carbon atoms are present, specify the location of the double bond.

RULES IN NAMING ALKENES AND ALKYNES

When naming branched-chain alkenes, follow the same rules as for alkanes,
with two exceptions.
− The parent chain is always the longest chain that contains double
bond, whether it is the longest chain or not.
− The position of the double bond, not the branches, determine the
numbering.
− Use a prefix to designate the
number of double bonds.
Properties of Alkenes
 Alkenes are nonpolar and have low solubility in water.
 Alkenes are more reactive than alkanes because the double bond increases electron density
between the two carbon atoms, providing a good site for chemical reactivity.

ALKYNES
 Unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain one or more triple bonds between carbon atoms are called
alkynes.
 The general formula for alkynes is
(CnH2n-2)
 Straight-chain and branched-chain
alkynes are named in the same way as
alkenes, except the ending is –yne.

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 Alkynes have physical and chemical properties similar to alkenes but are generally more reactive
because the triple bonds cause even larger electron densities than double bonds.

AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
Aromatic hydrocarbons are unusually stable compounds with ring structures in which electrons are
shared by many atoms. Organic compounds that contain benzene rings as part of their structure are called
aromatic compounds.

The Structure of Benzene

 Even by the middle of the 19th century, hydrocarbon ring structures remained unknown.
 Michael Faraday first isolated benzene in 1825.
 Chemists knew the formula was C6H6 and proposed several possible models which would have all be
very reactive, but benzene is unusually stable.
 German chemist Friederich Kekulé claimed to have had a dream in which he realized the flat,
hexagonal shape ring structure for benzene.
 Kekulé’s structure explained some of benzene's properties, but not its lack of reactivity.
 Linus Pauling’s hybrid orbital theory explained benzenes lack of reactivity.
 The double bonds in benzene are not fixed, but rather the electrons are delocalized and shared
among all six carbon atoms.

Aromatic was originally used because many benzene related compounds were found in pleasant
smelling oils that came from plants and plant parts.

Aliphatic compounds are the alkane, alkene, and alkyne hydrocarbons, coming from the Greek word for fat
because they were obtained by heating animal fat.
Substituted benzene compounds are named in the same way as cyclic alkanes.

o Many aromatic compounds were commonly used as industrial and laboratory solvents.
o Health risks linked to aromatics include respiratory ailments, liver problems, and damage to
the nervous system.
o Some aromatic compounds cause cancer.

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