The Importance of Education
UNIVERSITY OF THE GAMBIA LECTURE NOTES COURSE: PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY II (ORGANIC CHEMISTRY) CODE: CHM 161 2ND SEMESTER SESSION: 2012/2013 LECTURER: ANTHONY F. ADJIVON UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION
Organic chemistry started as the chemistry of life, when that was thought to be different from the chemistry in the laboratory. Then it became the chemistry of carbon compounds, especially those found in coal. Now it is both. It is the chemistry of the compounds of carbon along with other elements such hydrogen as are found in living things and elsewhere.
The organic compounds available to us today are those present in living things and those formed over millions of years from dead things. In earlier times, the organic compounds known from nature were those in the ‘essential oils’ that could be distilled from plants and the alkaloids that could be extracted from crushed plants with acid. Menthol is a famous example of a flavouring compound from the essential oil of spearmint and cis-jasmone an example of a perfume distilled from jasmine flowers.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. It is also said that an organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon and hydrogen but carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and elementary carbon are not organic compounds.
Carbon compounds make up the structure of all living things.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. Nearly all compounds found in living organisms and make up the structure of all living things are still classified as organic compounds as are many compounds that have been synthesized in the laboratory that have never been found in living organisms. Over 7 million organic compounds are known and the number is constantly growing whereas there are only about 1.5 million known inorganic compounds i.e. the compounds of the remaining 114 elements. This makes it very important to study the chemistry of this wide range of compounds.
Organic chemistry started as the chemistry of life, when that was thought to be different from the chemistry in the laboratory. Then it became the chemistry of carbon compounds, especially those found in coal. Now it is both. It is the chemistry of the compounds of carbon along with other elements such hydrogen as are found in living things and elsewhere.
The organic compounds available to us today are those present in living things and those formed over millions of years from dead things. In earlier times, the organic compounds known from nature were those in the ‘essential oils’ that could be distilled from plants and the alkaloids that could be extracted from crushed plants with acid. Menthol is a famous example of a flavouring compound from the essential oil of spearmint and cis-jasmone an example of a perfume distilled from jasmine flowers.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. It is also said that an organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon and hydrogen but carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and elementary carbon are not organic compounds.
Carbon compounds make up the structure of all living things.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. Nearly all compounds found in living organisms and make up the structure of all living things are still classified as organic compounds as are many compounds that have been synthesized in the laboratory that have never been found in living organisms. Over 7 million organic compounds are known and the number is constantly growing whereas there are only about 1.5 million known inorganic compounds i.e. the compounds of the remaining 114 elements. This makes it very important to study the chemistry of this wide range of compounds.