Intro to Organic Chemistry (AS)

• The prefixes mono-, di-, tri- are used to indicate the number of substituents on an organic compound.
• Alkenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons containing at least one double bond between two carbon atoms.
• Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons with single bonds between carbon atoms.
• Hydrocarbon chains can be straight or branched, with branching occurring when there is more than one carbon atom attached to another carbon atom.
• Carboxylic acids contain the -COOH functional group.
• Empirical formula - the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element in a compound.
• Molecular formula - the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule.
• Structural formula - shows the atoms carbon by carbon, with the attached hydrogens and functional groups.
• A mechanism breaks down a reaction into individual stages.
• Curly arrows in a mechanism show how electron pairs move around.
• Isomers have the same molecular formula.
• Structural isomers have the same molecular formula but different structural formula.
• Stereoisomers have the same structural formula but a different arrangement in space.
• Carbon atoms in a C=C double bond and the atoms bonded to these carbons all lie in the same plane and are planar.
• Atoms can't rotate around C=C double bonds like they can around single bonds.
• Restricted rotation around the C=C double bond causes E/Z isomerism.
• Alkenes show E/Z isomerism