Difference Between Organic and Inorganic Compounds

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Organic vs Inorganic Compounds

The most common differentiation to help distinguish between organic and inorganic
compounds used to be the fact that organic compounds result from the activity of
living beings, whereas inorganic compounds are either the result of natural processes
unrelated to any life form or the result of human experimentation in the laboratory.

But this definition is not strictly true because these days organic compounds can be
artificially created by human beings, and moreover organic compounds have been
found in outer space where there are no living beings. A more acceptable difference
pertains to the salt making property of inorganic compounds which is absent in
organic compound. But this definition too is not sacrosanct as both these compounds
are sometimes known to buck the trend when it comes to the presence or absence of
this property.

Some might hold that organic compounds have carbon while inorganic do not. This
too is not strictly one hundred per cent correct. A more tenable explanation is that
organic compounds have carbon-hydrogen bonds, while inorganic do not. This is
largely true and therefore is a real distinguishing characteristic.
Yet another difference is the fact that inorganic compounds contain metal atoms,
whereas organic compounds do not. This too is not one hundred percent true. Maybe
one could just take the word of organic and inorganic chemist on what constitutes an
organic or inorganic compound. Organic compounds are biological and inorganic are
mineral in nature.

Another way of bringing out the difference is to point out that organic compounds are
part of a class of chemical compounds, the molecules of which contain carbon and
hydrogen. By this logic carbide, carbonates, carbon oxides, and elementary carbon do
not qualify to be organic compounds. Inorganic compound come mainly from mineral
sources of non biological origin. The modern view of inorganic compounds believes
that inorganic compounds mostly comprise of metal containing compounds even if
they happen to exist in living organisms.
Thus we see that what constitutes organic or inorganic compounds has changed over a
period of time, and there happen to be no water tight compartments which will
differentiate the two. However one can always differentiate between organic
compounds and inorganic compounds.
Summary:
1. Organic compounds are the result of activities of living beings while inorganic
compounds are created either due to natural processes unrelated to any life form or the
result of human experimentation in the laboratory.
2. Inorganic compounds can make salt, while organic cannot.
3. Organic compounds contain carbon, while inorganic do not.
4. Organic compounds have carbon-hydrogen bonds, while inorganic do not.
5. Inorganic compounds contain metal atoms, whereas organic compounds do not.
6. Organic compounds are biological and inorganic are mineral in nature.
7. Organic compounds are part of a class of chemical compounds the molecules of
which contain carbon and hydrogen, while inorganic compounds mostly comprise of
metal containing compounds even if they happen to exist in living organisms.