Organic chemistry

covalently bonded compounds containing carbon, excluding carbonates and oxides.

few exceptions, such as Na2CO3, CO, and CO2, that are considered inorganic. 

All organic compounds contain carbon atoms.

Aspirin, polyethylene in plastic bags, citric acid in the fruit, and amino acids in animals are all examples of organic compounds.

ability to form long chains and rings of covalently bonded atoms.

catenation, the covalent bonding of an element to itself to form chains or rings.

carbon atoms bind readily to elements with similar electronegativities.

Hydrocarbons are composed of only carbon and hydrogen; they are the simplest or ganic compounds

Other organic compounds contain hydrocarbon backbones to which other elements, primarily O, N, S, and the halogens, are attached.

The bonding capabilities of carbon also allow for different arrangements of atoms.

Molecular formula indicates the elements and the number of each element present in the compound without specifiying the way the atoms are bonded.

A structural formula indicates the number and types of atoms present in a molecule and also shows the bonding arrangement of the atoms.

Compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structures are called isomers.

Structural isomers, also called “constitutional isomers,” are isomers in which the atoms are bonded together in different orders

Geometric isomers are isomers in which the order of atom bonding is the same but the arrangement of atoms in space is different.

Geometric isomers are isomers in which the order of atom bonding is the same but the arrangement of atoms in space is different.