The nature of Organic Chemistry has changed greatly since 1828. Before that time the scientific philosophy known as "Vitalism" maintained that Organic Chemistry was the chemistry of living systems. It maintained that Organic Compounds could only be produced within living matter while Inorganic compounds were synthesized from non-living matter. Even the word "organic" comes from the same root as the word "organism" or "organ". However people like Professor Wohler beginning in 1828 determined that it was indeed possible to synthesize organic compounds from those compounds that were considered inorganic. One of the first organic compounds synthesized from basically inorganic compounds was the compound Urea which is a metabolic product of urine. It was synthesized from Ammonium Cyanate considered a compound produced outside of living matter and therefore considered inorganic. Since then many millions of Organic compounds have been synthesized "in vitro" in other words outside living tissue.

Organic Chemistry has developed into a branch of Chemistry that focuses upon the carbon containing compounds. It has just recently been expanded to include compounds of Silicon since Silicon is similar in behavior to Carbon being in the same group within the Periodic Table. Given that the main material in which micro-chips of the computer age have as their foundation is Silicon, it is fitting that the main element establishing living organisms should be merged with the main element involved in the inanimate machine world.

Organic Chemistry is the largest branch and fastest growing branch of Chemistry. Generally Organic Chemistry is manageable by classifying organic compounds into "families". Each family consists of compounds that have a chemically active center of the molecule called the family's "functional group". All members of a particular family have similar Chemistry because their functional group is the center of Chemical activity. Some of the families include the following:

• Alkanes (all single bonds)
• Alkyl Halides (involving at least one halogen bonded to a carbon)
• Alkenes (at least one Carbon - Carbon double bond
• Alkynes (at least one Carbon- Carbon triple bond)
• Aromatic Compounds (involving the molecule Benzene, Napthalene, Anthracene, etc)
• Alcohols (at least one OH group)
• Thiols (similar to alcohols except Sulfur (SH) instead of Oxygen
• Ethers (at least one Oxygen single bonded to two carbons)
• Thioethers(similar to ethers except a Sulfur atom in place of an Oxygen atom)
• Aldehydes (at least one formyl group -CH=O)
• Ketones (at least on keto group C=O)
• Carboxylic Acids (at least one carboxyl group -COOH)
• Amines (at least one Nitrogen bonded to Hydrogen or carbon atoms)
• Amino Acids (at least one amino group NH₂ and one carboxyl group -COOH)
• Carbohydrates (at least several OH groups and a formyl or keto group)
• Organometallics (where we have ionic bonding between a metal and a carbon structure)

Needless to say that Organic Chemistry is a mammoth field which involves life long learning.

R. H. Logan, Instructor of Chemistry, Dallas County Community College District, El Centro College.

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All textual content copyrighted (c) 1995
R.H. Logan, Instructor of Chemistry, DCCCD
All Rights reserved

Revised: 8/20/97

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