organic chemistry homework help

organic chemistry homework help

Exploring the Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Introduction to Organic Chemistry

In this series of articles, we will be covering the heart and soul of the vast and rich discipline that we call organic chemistry. However, we want to make sure that we are getting off on a good foot, so we have decided to kick it off by first covering some of the introductory aspects of understanding more about organic chemistry and what studying this subject really means. In other words, we are here to introduce you to the fact that there is a whole other world that is hanging out all around us and chances are every professional organic chemist would have spent some of their valuable time trying to get a glimpse inside of it to better understand the secrets and stories it has to share.

In the simplest terms, everything can be grouped into two categories: either it is organic or it is inorganic. Although people might not necessarily think about the specifics of how that is determined, from a scientific perspective, the main difference between both of these categories is that organic things contain carbon while inorganic things do not. That means that any and all things that are derived from living things have at least some element of carbon, and whether that carbon is present in its original form or not, all organic things would include carbon-containing compounds. This is why a degree in the study of organic chemistry, the scientific discipline that focuses on carbon and carbon-containing compounds, is so incredibly important because it would include a great many things that we consider to be a fundamentally integral part of modern life. Of course, because the discipline details a number of sources in as different fields as food and agriculture, polymers, natural products, and medicine, lots of people are interested in either becoming a professional organic chemist or better understanding the things that their friendly neighborhood organic chemist does every day.

2. Key Concepts and Principles in Organic Chemistry

Since the structural characteristics of carbon are so versatile, it can combine with other elements in an unlimited number of ways. In fact, there are more than 15 million known organic compounds today! The study of organic chemistry is the study of practically all carbon compounds. The proportion of compounds studied in their free state or those found in living organisms to the total number of carbon compounds is very small. The majority of the carbon compounds are either man-made or their derivatives. The division of organic compounds into two main types – open chain compounds and cyclic compounds – is based on the spatial arrangement of carbon atoms. Some common cycles of carbon as found in organic compounds are that of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and propane (C3H8).

Organic chemistry is a critical component of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. It is the study of carbon-containing compounds, which makes the subject quite extensive in nature. The assumed and profound implication of this statement is the existence of several fundamental theories and rules such as stereochemistry (e.g. R/S, E/Z, threo/erythro), molecular structure and bonding. The discussion of these concepts is the central aspect of any organic chemistry course: how organic compounds behave in the presence of an acid (e.g. Ag+(aq)/-OH), and how this behavior guides their reaction mechanism; any analysis in retrosynthetic techniques; understanding a sequence of synthetic transformations or product representations. The proposed section aims to provide a comprehensive and cohesive overview of these essential organic concepts, elucidating principles supported by relevant, illustrative, and engaging examples.

3. Common Organic Reactions and Mechanisms

There are several factors that influence whether or not a reaction occurs. Leaving group ability, the strength of acids, nucleophiles, and electrophiles are all important. For example, hydrochloric acid fully ionizes in water, creating a strong enough acid to protonate the water molecule. As a result, hydrochloric acid and water molecules will react. On the other hand, methane (CH4) reacts with water only in high-temperature combustion processes. Methane bond energies are too stable to be reactive with water under acidic or basic conditions.

Radical and heterolytic pathway: Free radicals are reactive chemical species involving unpaired electrons. Radical-chain mechanism. Photochemical. Carbocation pathway: Formation of carbocation intermediates. Carbanion pathway: Nucleophilic attacks by carbanions. Organometallic pathway: Formation of Grignard reagent and its reaction. Deprotonation compounds as sources of strong nucleophiles. All particles are involved as reactants. Heterolytic pathway: Carbenes, nitrenes, carbocations, carbonyl compounds as electrophiles. Going from at least one pair of electrons in the reactants to a “new” (resulting however possibly unstable) bond of two atoms.

Common organic reactions and mechanisms generally are the most important to know in order to predict the results and develop a feel for what types of reactions occur. Knowing when one reaction is preferred over another, based on the structure of the organic molecule, is a useful skill. Here we show you 26 common organic reactions that occur and the basic form of their mechanisms.

4. Functional Groups and Their Significance

Many functional groups are uncommon, so if you become familiar with functional groups of relatively small molecular size, then you can concentrate on how “non-functional” groups affect properties of reactivity rather than knowing a formula for every substance.

We defined an organic functional group as a molecular subunit included in the molecule to establish its physical and chemical properties. These special molecular “subunits” join this new physical and/or chemical reactivity to the carbon chain, which greatly affects the properties and behavior of that compound. The influence of such functional groups can be small or great, depending upon its size, polarity, and so on. For instance, if this attached functional group has only one atom (like -OH), then the new polarity is not of great significance; on the other hand, if ten or more carbon atoms in size (as is common with certain fatty acids), then the effect upon reactivity, boiling point, and so on is very large.

Then we defined a functional group of a molecule as a set of atoms, bonded in a specific arrangement, that imparts what kind of physical and/or chemical properties to the molecule. Whether a carbon chain is linear, branched, or cyclic, the presence or absence of one or another functional group is the most important determinant of what that organic molecule is like. They help determine reactivity, acidity, or basicity, and they can participate in a special kind of chemical behavior, like the delocalized electron charge in a benzene ring.

Functional groups played a major role in the second section. They were used to predict the reactivity and behavior of the attached carbon chain. Because of the importance of functional groups, this section is a comprehensive examination of the properties of the functional groups in order to master this second section.

5. Applications of Organic Chemistry in Everyday Life

Organic compounds are vital for a number of reasons. Most importantly, they are responsible for life on Earth. Organic compounds such as proteins, enzymes, and catalysts perform numerous functions in living organisms. They also create sugars, vitamins, living tissues, and complex structures such as hair and teeth. There are many other applications of organic chemistry in daily life. Some processed foods contain organic compounds. Many drugs are organic compounds. For example, penicillin’s chemical name is 6 – [2 – [4 – (2 – aminoethyl carbamoyloxy) phenyl] acetamido] – 3, 3 – dimethyl – 7 – oxo – 4 – thia – 1 – azabicyclo [3.2.0] heptane – 2 – carboxylic acid. People do not know it is a medicine made of chemicals. Many cleaning products used in households also contain organic compounds. For example, household chemicals and solvents contain benzene, alcohol, and toluene, while paint contains alkyd, styrene, and elastomers. Plastic is everywhere. Plastic is made primarily of resin (phenol, formaldehyde, and allylic alcohol), and additives include only organic compounds. In addition, organic compounds are vital raw materials in the production of clothing, leather, printing inks, explosives, and jewelry. Organic compounds are also used in perfumes, toiletries, and soaps. Organic compounds are used to make many inorganic and organic chemicals for use as synthetics and in the field because they are the base materials for many other products. Organic compounds are used as a foaming aid. They are used for substrates in wet granulation and dry granulation processes.

In conventional academic or industry settings, organic chemistry is primarily studied and employed in the laboratory or industrial processes. However, having an understanding of its principles can help one understand various materials and objects in one’s surroundings. For example, they can understand why aspirin works and Coca-Cola or Pepsi has the same taste most of the time. This final part seeks to provide a brief summary of the practical applications of organic chemistry that influence our daily lives.