Chapter 23: Organic Chemistry 23.1 What is carbon Compounds? carbon compounds are far more numerous and varied than compounds formed from other elements there are millions of different carbon compounds most are combinations with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorous, and the hologens some general and physical properties of carbon atoms are : non electrolytes, or very weak electrolytes low melting points compounds made solely from carbon and hydrogen are generally non-polar and insoluble in water 23.2 Where do Carbon Compounds come from? composed chiefly of carbon of carbon atoms, incorporated appreciable amounts of oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur compounds into its structure in which coal is heated in the absence of air, liberated many carbon compounds Coal tar was separated into 200 different carbon compounds In order to maintain living conditions, organisms must synthesize numerous carbon-based molecules such as protein, fats, sugars, cellulose, etc. Since all the sources of carbon compounds came from living organisms, chemistry of carbon was called organic chemistry. 23.3 So many organic compounds The bonding Behavior of Carbon: For electrons available for bonding, electrons can be shared in four covalent bonds Carbon atoms can be linked together to form chains of various lengths Different arrangements of the same atoms result in different substances, each with unique chemical and physical identities 23.4 Sorting Out Organic Compounds Carbon compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms Organic compounds in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by other atoms are consider derivatives of hydrocarbons Carbon backbone (skeleton) Longest chain in a hydrocarbon molecule (e.g.) Simple molecules are called straight chain or unbranched hydrocarbons...
