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Organic Chemistry

Organic Chemistry

What is organic chemistry? 

Organic chemistry is the study of compounds that contain the element carbon. This is a wide ranging topic that overlaps with other sciences like biochemistry, medicine, and materials science. Organic chemists study the properties, structure, and chemical reactions of organic compounds. 

Why is carbon important? 

Carbon is the central element to all living organisms. It is the basis to all life on earth. By studying carbon and organic compounds, scientists can learn more about life, the human body, and how it works. 

Organic Molecules 

Most organic molecules are made up of long rings or chains of carbon atoms with atoms of other elements attached. Common elements besides carbon (C) that are found in organic compounds include hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S). Some examples of organic molecules include:

• Carbohydrates - Carbohydrates consist only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They include starches and sugars and play an important role in our daily lives.
• Lipids - Lipids include fats and waxes. They are used for long term storage of energy in life forms.
• Proteins - Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids. Proteins play an important role in nearly every process that takes place in cells.
• Nucleic Acids - Nucleic acids make up long chains of components such as DNA and RNA. DNA carries information such as genes for protein molecules to use. The RNA helps to move the DNA code from storage to where it can be used.

Types of Organic Compounds or Functional Groups 

There are a number of types of organic compounds. Scientists divide these up into functional groups based on the type of element common to the group in addition to carbon. These groups have similar properties because they have similar molecules. 

Hydrocarbons 

Hydrocarbons form a functional group of organic compounds that are composed of only hydrogenand carbon atoms. Within the group of hydrocarbons are other groups such as alkanes. Alkanes include ethane, propane, methane, and butane. A lot of these compounds are used for heating and cooking. Other groups of hydrocarbons are alkenes, and alkynes. 

Other elements 

Other elements that carbon combines with to form organic compounds include oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and boron. 

Organic Synthesis 

Organic synthesis is the process of making organic compounds. Many of the products we use everyday are made from organic compounds produced in large factories. Examples of these include plastics, alcohols, rubber, and dyes. 

What is the difference between organic chemistry and biochemistry? 

We learned that organic chemistry is the study of compounds containing carbon. Biochemistry, on the other hand, is the study of chemical processes in biological systems. These two sciences often overlap as organic compounds play an important role in many chemical processes. 

Interesting Facts about Organic Chemistry

• Carbon occurs in its pure form in nature as graphite and diamond.
• Around 18 percent of the human body is carbon atoms.
• Charles Goodyear found that combining rubber with sulfur allowed the rubber to be more durable across temperatures.
• Synthetic dyes made from organic compounds have allowed the manufacture of dyes rather than using plants for dyes.
• DNA molecules are very long. If you stretched one out it would be about three feet long.

States of Matter - solids, liquids and gases | Chemistry for All | The Fuse School

States of Matter - solids, liquids and gases | Chemistry for All | The Fuse School

Atoms Around Us

 
What is an atom? Atoms are building blocks. If you want to create a language, you'll need an alphabet. If you want to build molecules, you will need atoms from different elements. Elements are the alphabet in the language of molecules. 

Each element is a little bit different from the rest. In English, you know that “B” is different from “C.” In chemistry, “B” is also different from “C” because boron (B) and carbon (C) are different elements with atoms that have different structures. Atoms are defined as the smallest units of matter that have the properties of an individual element. 

Are there pieces of matter smaller than an atom? Sure. Atoms are made up of smaller and even smaller particles of matter. However, those smaller particles don’t have the properties of an element. The electrons in a gold (Au) atom are the same as the electrons in an atom of neon (Ne). In chemistry, we like to study atoms because the Universe revolves around the properties of elements, not necessarily the properties of an electron or proton. 

For example, let’s say you have bar of gold. You know that bar is made of matter because everything is made of matter. Because it is pure gold, there are only gold atoms in the bar. If you only had one atom of gold in your hand, it would have the same properties as every other gold atom in that bar. But what if you only had one electron from a gold atom? That electron would not have the properties of gold anymore. It would just be an electron doing electron stuff. The atom is the smallest unit that has the properties of an element. 

We can teach you about the general structure of an atom, but you need to study atoms from different elements to really learn how atoms work. 

Common Elements

 
Let's work with the alphabet idea again. If you read a book, you will find words on each page. Letters make up those words. In English, we only have twenty-six letters, but we can make thousands of words. In chemistry, you are working with almost 120 elements. When you combine them, you can make millions of different molecules. 

Molecules are groups of atoms in the same way that words are groups of letters. An "A" will always be an "A" no matter what word it is in. A sodium (Na) atom will always be a sodium atom no matter what molecule it is in. While atoms from different elements have different masses and structures, they are all built with the same parts. Electrons, protons, and neutronsare the basic subunits for all atoms across the Universe. 

From Simple to Complex

 
If you want to do a little more thinking, imagine the smallest particles of matter. Super-tiny subatomic particles are used to create the parts of atoms. Protons, neutrons, and electrons can then organize to form atoms. Atoms are then used to create the molecules around us. As we just learned, there are almost 120 elements that can be found in the molecules we know. Smaller molecules can work together and build macromolecules. It just goes on. Everything you see or imagine is built from something else. 

You could start really small...
- Particles of matter
  - Atoms
    - Molecules
      - Macromolecules
        - Cell organelles
          - Cells
            - Tissues
              - Organs
                - Systems
                  - Organisms
                    - Populations
                      - Ecosystems
                        - Biomes
                          - Planets
                            - Systems with Stars
                              - Galaxies
                                - The Universe
                                  ...And finish really big. 

Wow! All of that is possible because of atoms. 

Basic Atomic Structure

Basic Atomic Structure

Present simple

Types of weather

Types of weather