Organic Chemistry Lecture 1

Introduction to Organic Chemistry

• Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with carbon and its compounds, and is fundamental to biology and medicine.
• Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon, which forms strong chemical bonds to other carbon atoms and many other elements like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the halogens.

History of Organic Chemistry

• Organic chemicals were used in ancient times by Romans and Egyptians as dyes, medicines, and poisons from natural sources, but the chemical composition of the substances was unknown.

Nomenclature

• To name an organic compound, find the longest carbon chain in the molecule, which gives the base of the name.
• Determine the principal functional group and its position, indicated by numbering the carbons in the main chain.
• Positioning numbers are flanked by dash signs, and multiple positions for a given functional group are separated by commas and indicated by prefixes (di, tri, tetra, etc.).
• Ancillary functional groups are given in alphabetical order, with their position at the beginning of the name.

Hydrocarbons

• Hydrocarbons are the most simple organic compounds, containing only carbon (C) and hydrogen (H).
• Hydrocarbons can undergo reactions that release a large amount of energy.
• Hydrocarbons can be divided into aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons.
• In hydrocarbons, the carbon atoms join together to form the framework of the compound, and the hydrogen atoms attach to them in many different configurations.