• Organic chemistry?is the chemistry of carbon compounds
• Carbon forms a vast number of compounds because it can form strong covalent bonds with itself
• This enables it to form long chains of carbon atoms, and hence an almost infinite variety of carbon compounds are known
• Hydrocarbons are compounds that are made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms?ONLY

The diagram shows examples of hydrocarbons

Ethanol is NOT a hydrocarbon as the molecule also contains an oxygen atom and is not solely made up of carbon and hydrogen

• Hydrocarbons can be placed into two categories
  • Saturated molecules containing single carbon-carbon bonds only
  • Unsaturated molecules containing double or triple carbon-carbon bonds
• The?general formula?is a formula that represents a?homologous series?of compounds using letters and numbers
  • Eg. the general formula of alkanes is CnH2n+2
  • A homologous series is a group of organic compounds that have the same functional group, the same general formula and the same chemical properties

   

• The?structural formula?is a formula that shows how the atoms are bonded to each carbon atom in a molecule
• The?displayed formula?is a 2D representation of an organic molecule showing?all?its atoms (by their?symbols) and their bonds (by single, double or triple bonds)
• The?skeletal formula?is a simplified displayed formula with all the carbon and hydrogen (C-H) bonds removed

Overview of the Formulae of Organic Compounds Table

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• The?molecular formula?shows the number and type of each atom in a molecule
  • Eg. the molecular formula of ethanoic acid is C2H4O2

• The?empirical formula?shows the simplest whole number ratio of the elements present in one molecule of the compound
  • Eg. the empirical formula of ethanoic acid is CH2O

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