Organic Compounds

Chemical compounds composed primarily of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur atoms are called organic compounds.

Organic compounds form a vast variety of molecules — from fundamental building blocks of life like DNA or plant cell walls to energy liberating materials like fuels. They are usually easily broken down.

Carbon atoms constitute the backbone of every organic compound, which can assume diverse structures with ring-shaped, branched, and straight-chain arrangements due to carbon’s versatility to form four bonds, either as single, double, or triple bonds.

Organic compounds can be either hydrocarbons or functionalized hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbons are constituted entirely of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Alkanes are hydrocarbons containing single bonds. Alkenes contain one or more double bonds, while alkynes contain one or more triple bonds.

Hydrocarbon nomenclature follows a pattern where the base-name is mentioned first using a prefix determined by the number of carbon atoms. The name ends with the suffix –ane, –ene, or –yne depending on the presence of single, double, or triple bonds, respectively.

For example, the single-bond containing alkane with three carbon atoms is propane. Double-bond containing alkene with three carbons is propene, while a triple-bond containing alkyne with three carbon atoms is propyne.

Hydrocarbons with one or more of its hydrogen atoms substituted by a specific group of atoms or functional groups are called functionalized hydrocarbons. The general formula of functionalized hydrocarbons designates the hydrocarbon portion by the letter ‘R’ and the specific functional group.

Functional groups can be of many types and have specific physical and chemical properties. All organic compounds carrying a common functional group fall under the same family of hydrocarbons, exhibit similar properties and follow similar nomenclature.

For instance, all organic compounds carrying an –OH functional group are called alcohols. The nomenclature mentions the parent-alkane base-name ending with the suffix –ol, specific to the alcohol functional group. Hence, propane having an –OH functional group is named propanol.

In contrast, all organic compounds carrying carboxyl functional groups are called carboxylic acids. The nomenclature states the parent-alkane base-name ending with the suffix –oic acid, unique to the carboxyl functional group. Hence, propane with a carboxyl functional group is named propanoic acid.