Introduction to Inorganic and Organic Chemistry

Study Notes

Chemistry is the branch of science that explores matter and its fundamental properties, behaviors, structures, interactions, reactions with other things, energy changes during these processes, and ways by which all this can be observed. There are two main branches of chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.

Inorganic Chemistry deals with everything that doesn't contain carbon atoms. This includes metals, minerals, rocks, and various other types of elements found in nature. It also covers synthetic materials like plastics, silicon chips, etc., even though they may not occur naturally. Some common examples of compounds studied under inorganic chemistry are salts, acids, bases, and oxides. These compounds have relatively simple molecular formulas, such as NaCl or HNO3, and their molecules consist only of the central atom surrounded by electrons.

Organic Chemistry focuses primarily on compounds containing carbon atoms, sometimes called organics. These chemicals make up living things. They share many features with non-carbon compounds because both have bonds between atoms. But unlike inorganic chemistry, where each atom has a specific number of valence electrons, carbon can combine with hydrogen and oxygen to make very complex things. For example, water contains three hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bonded together through covalent bonds. Complex biological molecules like proteins and DNA are made from thousands of different kinds of smaller molecules linked together.

Both inorganic and organic chemists study how chemical reactions happen when materials come into contact with each other. However, inorganic chemists focus more on physical properties while organic chemists concentrate on life sciences as well. Both fields involve understanding how different chemicals react with others, creating new ones, breaking down old ones, changing shape, color, temperature, pressure, etc.. Chemists must understand what happens when these things change so they can predict the behavior of substances before trying experiments. This means knowing lots of facts about the structure and composition of elements, compounds, mixtures, solutions, gases, liquids, solids, and plasmas, along with rules governing their behavior.

Description

Explore the fundamental differences and similarities between inorganic and organic chemistry, including the types of compounds studied, molecular formulas, and focus areas of each branch. Learn about the properties, structures, reactions, and applications in the field of chemistry.