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Chemistry LibreTexts

3: Module 3

  • Anonymous
  • LibreTexts

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Organic chemistry is the study of the chemistry of carbon compounds. Why focus on carbon? Carbon has properties that give its chemistry unparalleled complexity. It forms four covalent bonds, which give it great flexibility in bonding. It makes fairly strong bonds with itself (a characteristic called catenation), allowing for the formation of large molecules; it also forms fairly strong bonds with other elements, allowing for the possibility of a wide variety of substances. No other element demonstrates the versatility of carbon when it comes to making compounds. So an entire field of chemistry is devoted to the study of the compounds and reactivity of one element.

Because of the potential for complexity, chemists have defined a rather rigorous system to describe the chemistry of carbon. We will introduce some of that system in this chapter. Should you continue your study of chemistry beyond this text, you will find a much larger world of organic chemistry than we can cover in a single chapter.

  • 3.1: Prelude to Organic Chemistry
    Photosynthesis involves a whole series of reactions with many chemicals, enzymes, breaking and making chemical bonds, the transfer of electrons and H+ ions, and other chemical processes. The elucidation of the actual steps of photosynthesis—a process still unduplicated artificially—is a major achievement of modern chemistry.
  • 3.2: Hydrocarbons
    The simplest organic compounds are hydrocarbons and are composed of carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons can be aliphatic or aromatic; aliphatic hydrocarbons are divided into alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes. The combustion of hydrocarbons is a primary source of energy for our society.
  • 3.3: Branched Hydrocarbons
    A unique name can be given to branched hydrocarbons. A unique structure can be drawn for the name of a hydrocarbon.
  • 3.4: Alkyl Halides and Alcohols
    The presence of a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br, or I; X is also used to represent any halogen atom) is one of the simplest functional groups. Organic compounds that contain a halogen atom are called alkyl halides.
  • 3.5: Other Oxygen-Containing Functional Groups
    Aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, and ethers have oxygen-containing functional groups.
  • 3.6: Other Functional Groups
    There are some common, and important, functional groups that contain elements other than oxygen. In this section, we will consider three of them: amine, amide, and thiol functional groups.
  • 3.7: Polymers
    Polymers are long molecules composed of chains of units called monomers. Several important biological polymers include proteins, starch, cellulose, and DNA.
  • 3.8: Prelude to Chemical Reactions
    The space shuttle—and any other rocket-based system—uses chemical reactions to propel itself into space and maneuver itself when it goes into orbit. The rockets that lift the orbiter are of two different types. Although the solid rocket boosters each have a significantly lower mass than the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks, they provide over 80% of the lift needed to put the shuttle into orbit—all because of chemical reactions.
  • 3.9: The Chemical Equation
    A chemical equation is a concise description of a chemical reaction. Proper chemical equations are balanced.
  • 3.10: Types of Chemical Reactions - Single and Double Replacement Reactions
    A single-replacement reaction replaces one element for another in a compound. The periodic table or an activity series can help predict whether single-replacement reactions occur. A double-replacement reaction exchanges the cations (or the anions) of two ionic compounds. A precipitation reaction is a double-replacement reaction in which one product is a solid precipitate. Solubility rules are used to predict whether some double-replacement reactions will occur.
  • 3.11: Ionic Equations - A Closer Look
    Ionic compounds that dissolve separate into individual ions. Complete ionic equations show dissolved ionic solids as separated ions. Net ionic equations show only the ions and other substances that change in a chemical reaction.
  • 3.12: Composition, Decomposition, and Combustion Reactions
    A composition reaction produces a single substance from multiple reactants. A decomposition reaction produces multiple products from a single reactant. Combustion reactions are the combination of some compound with oxygen to make oxides of the other elements as products (although nitrogen atoms react to make N2).
  • 3.13: Neutralization Reactions
    The Arrhenius definition of an acid is a substance that increases the amount of H+ in an aqueous solution. The Arrhenius definition of a base is a substance that increases the amount of OH- in an aqueous solution. Neutralization is the reaction of an acid and a base, which forms water and a salt. Net ionic equations for neutralization reactions may include solid acids, solid bases, solid salts, and water.
  • 3.14: Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
    Oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one atom to another. Oxidation numbers are used to keep track of electrons in atoms. There are rules for assigning oxidation numbers to atoms. Oxidation is an increase in oxidation number (loss of electrons); reduction is a decrease in oxidation number (gain of electrons).

Thumbnail: DNA Double Helix (Public Domain; National Human Genome Research Institute via Wikipedia).


This page titled 3: Module 3 is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Anonymous via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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