1. 5.3 Organic Compounds
Organic compounds contain carbon, & usually hydrogen.
“Organic” sounds like the compounds come from living things, but some do, & some do not.
Inorganic compounds are compounds that do not have carbon (+ some exceptions: CO2, CO & ionic carbonates)
Always have C before H in their formulas which differentiates them from acids who usually start with H.

3. Why Carbon?
It has 4 electrons in its valence shell, which allows for more chemical bonding possibilities than any other element.
Long chains of carbon can be formed
Ex) petroleum and plastics

4. Hydrocarbons: organic compounds that contains only C & H
based on a carbon chain with hydrogen atoms added on the sides.
Simplest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), then ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), & pentane (C5H12)
All hydrocarbons are flammable, & most are liquids at room temp.

5. Alcohols:
are organic compounds with an -OH group off of the carbon chain.
Simplest alcohols are methanol (CH3OH), ethanol (C2H5OH) and isopropyl alcohol (C3H7OH).
Very good solvents (they dissolve other substances)
are generally very flammable
Take the Section 5.3 Quiz