Download Organic vs. Inorganic Compounds

Another way of classifying chemical
compounds…
•In
science, organic
compounds contain
carbon (C), and usually
hydrogen (H)
• Sometimes other
types of atoms are
also attached,
including: oxygen,
halogens, and
nitrogen


Organic actually derives from “coming
from life”, because the compounds that
plants and animals make are all Ccompounds
This is not the meaning of organic foods
though!

In this case organic refer to being
produced without chemicals (ironically
many of these chemicals are actually
ORGANIC compounds!)
•Inorganic
compounds do not contain
carbon with three exceptions:
• Carbon Monoxide and Carbon
Dioxide
• Compounds containing cyanide
(CN-) and carbonate (CO3-) ions
• Acids containing C—these can be
identified because H is written
before the C!

Carbon has four electrons in its valence shell,
which allows for more chemical bonding
possibilities than any other element.
 Long chains of carbons
form petroleum and plastics
 Some cyclic (“circular”) rings of carbons form
pesticides
The acetaminophen molecule:
the active ingredient in Tylenol

A hydrocarbon is an organic compound that
contains only carbon and hydrogen.

Hydrocarbons are based on a carbon “backbone”, or chain,
with hydrogen atoms added on the sides

The simplest hydrocarbons are ones
that you might recognize and have
even used!
 Methane (CH4)--- main component of





natural gas
Ethane (C2H6)--- also found in natural gas
Propane (C3H8) --- used as a fuel for BBQs
Butane (C4H10) --- an extremely flammable
fluid used in industrial torches
Octane (C8H18)---a combustible liquid in
gasoline
All hydrocarbons are flammable, and
most are liquids at room temperature

Alcohols are organic compounds with C,
H and O.

The simplest alcohols are:
 Methanol (CH4O)--- used in labs as a solvent but
causes blindness!
 Ethanol (C2H6O)---is a psychoactive drug (present
in alcohol), but is now being considered as a fuel
source
 Isopropyl alcohol (C3H8O)---rubbing alcohol used
to sterile cuts
Alcohols are generally very flammable
 MUST END IN (OH)

DNA
ORGANIC---DNA is has a sugar backbone, which consists of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen
Vegetable Oil
ORGANIC--- oils and fats are long-chain carbon compounds, which are
used by living things as a way of storing energy
Sulphuric Acid
NOT! Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) is the strong acid found in car batteries, but
doesn’t contain carbon and isn’t organic
Corn starch
ORGANIC! Starch is produced by plants as a way of storing sugars that
they don’t need right away
Copper (II) Sulphate
NOT! Copper (II) sulphate is a beautiful blue crystal, but does not contain
carbon and is definitely not organic!
1.
Structural formula- lists the elements and their
proportions in the order they are bonded
Methane
CH4
Methanol
CH3OH
Acetic Acid
(Vinegar)
CH3COOH
2.
Ball-and-stick model- each element is given a
different colour and/or size and the picture
shows how many and how the elements are
bonded
Each black ball represent C…
Each white ball represents H…
The red ball represents O…
This is Ethanol!
(alcohol group -0H)
3.
Space-filling model- similar to a ball-and-stick
model, but an animated model that shows
how elements are connected
Methylisocyanate- a valuable
synthetic component for biology
CH3N=C=S
Heme- the iron-containing component
of hemoglobin, C34H32FeN4O4