Introduction to Organic

Chemistry
• The course aims to:
• provide the important topics in Organic chemistry functional groups including
• Saturated and unsaturated HC, aromatic compounds, alcohols, phenols, carboxylic acids,
esters, and its derivatives, aldehydes & ketones, amines & amides.
• to help students to gain experience to predict the functional group
transformations and simple reaction mechanisms
Inorganic compound Vs. organic compounds
• a) Organic compounds are carbon-based and are the
key substances that make up living things.
• b) Inorganic substances also are important to
organisms, but do NOT contain carbon
Part 1: Organic (Carbon) Compounds:
Uniqueness of C
1. All living things are made MOSTLY of organic
compounds!
2. Yes, you’re organic! 
Carbon’s Key Properties
• Has a mid-range electronegativity value so it forms
covalent bonds and shares electrons
• Can form a maximum of four bonds
• Can form chains, sheets, and rings
• Usually combined with H and often bonds with O, S,
N and P
Organic compounds are made of
repeating units called monomers

Organic compounds FORM by dehydration

synthesis (condensation)

Organic compounds are BROKEN DOWN

by hydrolysis (decomposition)
The 4 Types of Organic (C) Compounds
Types of Organic (C) Compounds

1) Carbohydrates

Main Use: immediate energy

•contain C, H, and O
•polysaccharide is a long chains
of monomers
2) Lipids (fats; triglycerides)

Main Use: long term energy storage

•contains C, H, and O
•composed of glycerol + long fatty acid
chains
3) Proteins
Main Uses:
Structural –muscle protein fibers
Enzymes – catalysts to speed up
chemical reactions
Energy– only if starvation occurs
•contains C, H, O, N
•monomer = amino acids
•polypeptide is a long chain of amino acids
linked by peptide bonds
4) Nucleic Acids
Main Use: store and carry
genetic information

•C, H, O, N and P
•monomer = nucleotide
Ex. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is double
stranded
RNA (ribonucleic acid) is single stranded
 MATCHING

Monomer Organic compound

1. nucleotides carbohydrates

2. monosaccharides lipids

3. amino acids proteins

4. glycerol + fatty nucleic acids
acid chains
Part 2: Inorganic Substances in Living
Things
(no carbon)
 I. Water & Organisms
• about two-thirds (2/3) of the human body is water!!!

• Water is essential for cell function; it is required in

chemical reactions to sustain life

• Water is the only common substance in nature in all 3

physical states of matter– solid, liquid and gas
A) Polarity of Water

• Water is a polar molecule with positive (+) and

negative (-) ends
• this leads to easy formation of hydrogen (H)
bonds between water molecules

Oxygen
B) Properties of Water

1. cohesion--water molecules H
bond to one another easily and
“cling” together
2. adhesion--water molecules easily form H
bonds to other non-water substances

e.g. water travels

UP through plant
stems & tree
trunks
3. high specific heat!
Water has high specific heat and resists
changes in temperature
e.g. sweat absorbs some of the heat
of your body
4. high heat of vaporization

* It takes a significant temperature

increase for water to evaporate!
5. Water is less dense as a solid!
• water E X P A N D S when it freezes
 Therefore, ice FLOATS in water!!
 and cells die when the cytoplasm (fluid)
inside freezes!
e.g. frostbite
6. High solubility

 water molecules surround molecules

 water is practically a universal
solvent
II. Acids & Bases

1. Acids are substances that form hydrogen ions (H+)

in water

2. Bases are substances that form hydroxide ions

(OH-) in water
3. The pH scale measures the acidity & alkalinity.
III. Oxygen (O2)

• cells use O2 to breakdown food into ATP energy

molecules during cellular aerobic respiration
• You need to breathe O2 for energy!
• No O2, no energy, no life!
IV. Salts
• dissolve easily in water
• form ions (electrolytes) for metabolism (chemical
reactions for cell activities)
e.g. Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, Cl-
 Seatwork:

Create a thinking map entitled,

“Chemicals in Living Things”
Comparison of Properties of Organic and
Inorganic Compounds
Functional Group Names, Properties, and
Reactions
• In organic chemistry, a functional group is a specific group of
atoms or bonds within a compound that is responsible for
the characteristic chemical reactions of that compound.
• Functional groups also play an important part in organic
compound nomenclature; combining the names of the
functional groups with the names of the parent alkanes
provides a way to distinguish compounds.
• The atoms of a functional group are linked together and to
the rest of the compound by covalent bonds.
• The first carbon atom that attaches to the functional group is
referred to as the alpha carbon; the second, the beta carbon;
the third, the gamma carbon, etc.
• Similarly, a functional group can be referred to as primary,
secondary, or tertiary, depending on if it is attached to one,
two, or three carbon atoms.
Classification of alcohols: Alcohols are a common functional group
(-OH). They can be classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary,
depending on how many carbon atoms the central carbon is attached
to.