3.3.1 Introduction to Organic Chemistry

a family of organic compounds that: 1) Have the same general formula 2) Contain the same functional group 3) Have similar chemical properties 4) Show a gradual change in physical properties (e.g., boiling points increase with chain length)

C(n)H(2n+2)

C(n)H(2n)

C(n)H(2n+2)O

C(n)H(2n)O

C(n)H(2n)O

C(n)H(2n)O(2)

compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms ONLY

• carboxylic acids (COOH at the end of molecule) • aldehydes (CHO at the end of molecule) ^always position 1

Molecules with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae

Step 1: Identify the of longest carbon chain and choose the prefix (meth, eth…) Step 2: Identify the functional groups and choose the suffix (-ol, al…) Step 3: Identify the position of functional groups on the carbon chain (-1-ol, -3-ene.) Step 4: Place functional groups and alkyl chains in alphabetical order – if more than one

C(n)H(2n+1)X

C(n)H(2n)O(2)

C(n)H(2n+1)NH2

C(n+1)H(2n+1)N ^or C(n)H(2n+1)CN

-al

-one

(Alk)yl -oate

(Alk)yl amine

• nitrile E.g. ethane nitrile

• Chain isomerism • Positional isomerism • Functional group isomerism

when compounds have the same molecular formula, but their longest hydrocarbon chain is not the same

Branching

molecules with the same functional group and formulae, however the position of the functional group is different (located on different carbons)