If you imagine removing a hydrogen atom from an alkane, the partial structure that remains is called an alkyl group. Alkyl groups are not stable compounds themselves, they are simply parts of larger compounds and are named by replacing the –ane ending…
Before beginning a systematic study of the different functional groups, let’s look first at the simplest family of molecules to develop some general ideas that apply to all families. We saw in Section 1.7 that the carbon–carbon single bond in ethane results…
The structural features that make it possible to classify compounds into families are called functional groups. A functional group is a group of atoms within a molecule that has a characteristic chemical behavior. Chemically, a given functional group behaves in nearly the same way…
Figure 3.1 The bristlecone pine is the oldest living organism on Earth. The waxy coating on its needles contains a mixture of organic compounds called alkanes, the subject of this chapter. (credit: modification of work “Gnarly Bristlecone Pine” by Rick Goldwaser/Flickr, CC BY…
Understanding organic chemistry means knowing not just what happens but also why and how it happens at the molecular level. In this chapter, we’ve reviewed some of the ways that chemists describe and account for chemical reactivity, thereby providing a…
ammonia (NH3) is a weak base, there are a large number of nitrogen-containing organic compounds called amines that are also weak bases. In the early days of organic chemistry, basic amines derived from natural sources were known as vegetable alkali,…
When thinking about chemical reactivity, chemists usually focus their attention on bonds, the covalent interactions between atoms within molecules. Also important, however, particularly in large biomolecules like proteins and nucleic acids, are a variety of interactions between molecules that strongly affect molecular…
The Lewis definition of acids and bases is more encompassing than the Brønsted–Lowry definition because it’s not limited to substances that donate or accept just protons. A Lewis acid is a substance that accepts an electron pair, and a Lewis base is a substance…
Many of the reactions we’ll be seeing in future chapters, including practically all biological reactions, involve organic acids and organic bases. Although it’s too early to go into the details of these processes now, you might keep the following generalities…
Compilations of pKa values like those in Table 2.3 and Appendix B are useful for predicting whether a given acid–base reaction will take place, because H+ will always go from the stronger acid to the stronger base. That is, an acid will donate a proton to the conjugate base of…