Chem bio cc 1

• The science of chemistry is the science of everything - stars, computer hard drives, desks, and our bodies are all made up of different arrangements of atoms that are bonded together, breaking apart, or reacting with each other all the time
• Organic chemistry


  The study of molecules that have carbon atoms
• Carbon


  • Has four valence electrons
  • Often catenates, which means it bonds to itself
  • Forms lots of different compounds
• Organic compounds


  • Long chains of carbons and hydrogens like dodecane
  • Rings of carbons like anthracene
  • Complex structures with multiple rings and other atoms like the steroid estradiol
• Organic chemicals are pretty much everywhere
• Over these 50 episodes, we'll discover new reactions, new compounds, and new methods to understand them
• These discoveries are the result of centuries of hard work isolating chemicals, trying to figure out what they do, and stumbling upon happy accidents that led to revolutionary ideas
• Organic chemistry


  The study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds
• Organic chemistry includes chemicals extracted from living things, as well as man-made polymers like plastics
• Organic chemistry is carbon-centric - carbon is the key atom in all these molecules, and carbon atoms do some very predictable things, like make four bonds
• Lewis structure

  Illustrates what atoms are connected and shows all of the bonds and lone pairs of electrons in a molecule
• Organic compounds


  • Propane
  • Octane
  • Iso-octane
• Condensed structural formula

  Groups all of the hydrogens together next to the carbons they're bonded to, instead of drawing each one separately
• Skeletal formula


  Removes all the carbons and their attached hydrogens, leaving behind a skeleton of lines representing bonds
• Heteroatoms

  Atoms in organic molecules other than carbon and hydrogen
• Functional groups

  The parts of an organic structure that are non-carbon atoms or have double and triple bonds, where the cool chemistry happens
• Organic compounds give color to a lot of the foods and other things we see every single day, whether they're fixed with urea or not
• Organic compounds are diverse and give us things like plastics, light-emitting polymers, and natural dyes