O RGANIC C HEMISTRY

O RGANIC Organic compounds contain carbon All compounds without carbon are called inorganic compounds The simplest organic compounds only contain carbon and hydrogen. These are called hydrocarbons

A LKANE An alkane is a hydrocarbon that only has single covalent bonds All the carbon-carbon bonds are single covalent bonds and all other bonds are carbon-hydrogen bonds The carbon atoms in an alkane can be arranged in a straight chain or in a chain that has branches

B RANCHED -C HAIN A LKANES

Alkanes are nonpolar molecules Alkanes of low molar mass tend to be gases or liquids that boil at low temperature

U NSATURATED H YDROCARBONS Saturated compounds contain the maximum number of hydrogen atoms per carbon atom Alkanes are saturated compounds because the only bonds are single covalent bonds Compounds that contain double or triple carbon-carbon bonds are called unsaturated compounds The ratio of hydrogen atoms to carbon atoms is lower in an unsaturated compound that in a saturated compound

A LKENE Alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain one or more carbon-carbon double covalent bonds At least one carbon-carbon bond in an alkene is a double bond. Other bonds may be single carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-hydrogen bonds

A LKYNES Hydrocarbons that contain one or more carbon- carbon triple covalent bonds are called alkynes At least one carbon-carbon bond in an alkyne is a triple covalent bond. Other bonds may be single or double carbon-carbon bonds and single carbon- hydrogen bonds Like alkenes, alkynes are unsaturated compounds

P OLYMERS A polymer is a large molecule formed by the covalent bonding of repeating smaller molecules The smaller molecules that combine to form a polymer are called monomers Some polymers only contain one type of monomer, while others contain two or more types of monomers The reaction that joins monomers to form a polymer is called polymerization. Most polymerization reactions require a catalyst