organic chemistry

• hydrocarbon 


  a compound made up of only hydrogen + carbon
• organic chemistry


  the branch of chemistry that deals with carbon compounds
• homologous series


  a homologous series is a group of chemicals which have similar chemical properties and can be represented by a general formula
• functional group


  a group of atoms responsible for the characteristic reactions of a particular compound
• isomerism


  two or more compound with the same formula but a different arrangement of atoms in the molecule
• substitution reaction


  a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another
• addition reaction


  a reaction in which one molecule combines with another to form a larger molecule with no other products
• combustion reaction


  rapid chemical combination of a substance with oxygen, involving the production of heat + light
• saturated


  an organic molecule containing the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms, without carbon-carbon double or triple bonds
• alkane


  any of the series of saturated hydrocarbons including methane, ethane, propane, and higher members
• alkene


  any of the series of unsaturated hydrocarbons containing a double bond, including ethene and propene
• unsaturated


  organic molecules having carbon-carbon double or triple bonds and therefore not containing the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms
• polymer


  a substance which has a molecular structure built up chiefly or completely from a large number of similar units bonded together, e.g. materials used as plastics + resins
• monomer


  a molecule that can be bonded other identical molecules to form a polymer
• inertness

  chemically inactivity
• biodegrade


  a substance decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms
• toxic


  any substance which may be harmful to the environment or hazardous to your health if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin
• crude oil


  fossil fuel consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons
• fractional distillations


  separation of a liquid mixture into fractions differing in boiling point (and hence chemical composition) by means of distillation, typically using a fractionating column
• viscosity


  • viscosity is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow
  • often refered to as the 'thickness' of a liquid
• alumnia

  aluminium oxide
• fuel


  a substance that, when burned, releases heat energy
• volatile


  easily evaporated at normal temperatures
• what is a hydrocarbon?


  compound containing hydrogen + carbon only
• what is a covalent bond?


  the attraction between a shared pair of electrons + 2 nuclei
• what does the molecular formula show


  showing the number of atoms of each type in the molecule
• what does the displayed formula show?


  showing all atoms and all covelant bonds
• what does the structural formula show?

  showing each carbon atom individually
• what is an isomer?


  compounds with the same molecular formula but different arrangements of atoms
• what does unsaturated mean?


  organic molecules having carbon-carbon double and therefore not containing the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms
• functional group


  a group of atoms responsible for the characteristic reactions of a particular compound
• isomerism

  two or more compounds with the same formula but a different arrangement of atoms in the molecule
• substitution reaction

  a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another
• addition reaction


  a reaction in which one molecule combines with another to form a larger molecule with no other products
• combustion reaction


  rapid chemical combination of a substance with oxygen, involving the production of heat and light
• saturated


  an organic molecule containing the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms, with out carbon-carbon double bonds