What is Organic chemistry?

In this article, we will see about - What is Organic Chemistry? Importance of Organic Chemistry, Introduction to Organic Chemistry? And about the organic compounds.

Organic Chemistry

Let us consider, two following things:

1) Compounds formed from living organisms- Organic compounds.

2) Compounds which are not obtained from living organisms - Inorganic compounds.

Now, We are Discussed about the all information about organic chemistry. All basic concepts about organic chemistry in simple words.

Introduction to Organic Chemistry:

Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. Every organic compound contains a carbon atom but every compound containing carbon atom need not be an organic compound.

Examples: Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide, carbon disulphide etc.
Organic chemistry is a field which touches almost all aspects of our life as-

1) The cloths that we are use are made from cotton, woolen.

2) Food that we eat contains fat, carbohydrates, proteins.

3)shelter which are made from wood.
4) Dyes

5) Drugs which are antibiotics, Antiseptics etc.

6) Fuel which we are burn like kerosene, coal, petrol etc.

7) Rubber and leather products.

8) Paper and ink.

General characteristics of organic compounds:

Organic compounds have many characteristics in nature.
1) Organic compounds made up of many elements. Most of the organic compounds conatins elements like Carbon, Hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, halogen, sulphur, phosphorus etc.

2) The number of organic compounds known is too large. There are more than ten thousand compounds are added to the list. It is essential that the total number of compounds formed by carbon alone is far more than all the compounds formed by all other elements in the periodic table. The ability of carbon to form large number of compounds is due to the following reasons:

a) Catenation property:

Catenation means the ability of carbon atom to get linked to one another to form long chains or branched chains or ring forms.

b) Isomerism:

It is the phenomenon of organic compounds having same molecular formula but different structural formulae.

Example: C5H12 has three different structures. The number of structures increases with increase in number of carbon atoms.

c) Polymerisation:

Monomers are added to each other to form a large compounds called as polymer and the process is called as polymerisation. Polymer chemistry is the one of the branch of organic chemistry.

Polyvinyl chloride is the example of polymer which is formed from vinyl chloride monomer.

3) Solubility:

As organic compounds are covalent and many are nonpolar in nature, most of them are insoluble in polar solvent such as water. However, the compounds are soluble in nonpolar solvents such as benzene, chloroform, ether, etc.

4) Covalent nature:

Organic compounds are covalent in nature. . i.e. the different atoms in an organic molecule are mainly held together by covalent bonds.

5) Odour:

Most of the organic compounds have a characteristic odour e.g. esters have sweet and pleasant odour.

6) Melting point and Boiling points:

Organic compounds have low melting and boiling point, due to covalent nature. The molecules in crystal lattice are held together by weak force of attraction, which can be easily overcome.

7) Functional group:

An atom or a group of atoms that confers characteristic properties on a compound is called as functional group. All the compounds which belong to one particular class, show similar properties and have similar methods of preparation.

Classification of Organic compounds:

There are number of organic compounds, it is practically impossible to study them individually. Hence there is a need for classification of organic compounds.

There are two types of organic compounds:
1) Based on structure.
2) Based on functional group.

1) Based on structure:

A) Aliphatic compounds or open chain or acyclic compounds:

In this type, the carbon atoms are joined to form an open chain are called as aliphatic compounds. They contains straight or branched chain compounds.
Example:
1) CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3 - Pentane

2) CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3 - Hexane

a) Cyclic compounds:

The organic compounds in which carbon atoms are joined to form a closed ring are called as cyclic compounds. There are two types of cyclic compounds:

1) Homocyclic or carbocyclic-

The cyclic organic compounds which have a ring made up of carbon atoms only are called as homocyclic or carbocyclic compounds.

This homocyclic compounds are of two types:

i) Alicyclic compounds:

The cyclic compounds in which carbon atoms are linked in the form of ring and show some of the properties similar to those of aliphatic compounds are called as alicyclic compounds.
Examples:

Alicyclic compound

ii) Aromatic compounds:

The cyclic organic compounds which resemble at least one benzene in their chemical behavior called as aromatic compounds.
Examples:

Aromatic compound

b) Heterocyclic compounds:

The cyclic organic compounds which include one or more atoms other than carbon like O, N, S in the ring are called as heterocyclic compounds.
This compounds are divided into two types:

i) Hetero alicyclic compounds:

Carbon and hetro atoms are linked together to form a ring. Alicyclic compounds, which contain at least one hetro atom in the ring are called hetero alicyclic compounds.
Examples:

Hetero alicyclic compound

ii) Hetero aromatic compounds:

The cyclic compounds containing at least one hetero atom in the ring and conjugated bonds are called hetero aromatic compounds.
Examples:

Hetero Aromatic compound

B) Classification of organic compounds based on functional group:

An atom or a group of atoms in the organic molecule which determines majority of its physical and chemical properties is called as the functional group.
Examples:
1) CH3Cl, C2H5Cl - Chlorine atom is the functional group.
2) CH3-OH -OH hydroxy group is the functional group.

Empirical and Molecular formula of organic compounds:

1) Molecular formula:

Molecular formula of a compound gives the exact number of atoms of each element present in one molecule of the compound.
Consider, the molecular formula of ethyl chloride is C2H5Cl which indicates that one molecule of ethyl chloride contains two atoms of carbon, five atoms of hydrogen and one atom of chlorine.

2) Molecular formula weight:
It is the sum of the atomic weights of all the atoms present in its molecule gives molecular formula weight.

3) Empirical formula:

It gives the smallest ratio of the number of atoms of different elements present in one molecule of the compound. It is the simplest formula of the compounds.