{"id":18,"date":"2017-10-04T18:03:46","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T18:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=18"},"modified":"2017-10-04T18:06:01","modified_gmt":"2017-10-04T18:06:01","slug":"introduction-to-organic-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/chapter\/introduction-to-organic-chemistry\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction to Organic Chemistry","rendered":"Introduction to Organic Chemistry"},"content":{"raw":"<div id=\"skills\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<div id=\"skills\">\r\n\r\nAfter completing this section, you should be able to\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Define organic chemistry as the study of carbon-containing compounds.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Explain why the results of the experiments carried out by Chevreul and W\u00f6hler contributed to the demise of the \u201cvital force\u201d theory.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>KEY TERMS<\/h3>\r\n<div id=\"skills\">\r\n<p class=\"boxtitle\">Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key term below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"skills\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>organic chemistry<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm40968368\">All living things on earth are formed mostly of carbon compounds. The prevalence of carbon compounds in living things has led to the epithet \u201ccarbon-based\u201d life. The truth is we know of no other kind of life. Early chemists regarded substances isolated from\u00a0<em>organisms<\/em>\u00a0(plants and animals) as a different type of matter that could not be synthesized artificially, and these substances were thus known as\u00a0<em>organic compounds<\/em>. The widespread belief called vitalism held that organic compounds were formed by a vital force present only in living organisms. The German chemist Friedrich\u00a0<span class=\"no-emphasis\">Wohler<\/span>\u00a0was one of the early chemists to refute this aspect of vitalism, when, in 1828, he reported the synthesis of urea, a component of many body fluids, from nonliving materials. Since then, it has been recognized that organic molecules obey the same natural laws as inorganic substances, and the category of organic compounds has evolved to include both natural and synthetic compounds that contain carbon. Some carbon-containing compounds are\u00a0<em>not<\/em>classified as organic, for example, carbonates and cyanides, and simple oxides, such as CO and CO<sub>2<\/sub>. Although a single, precise definition has yet to be identified by the chemistry community, most agree that a defining trait of organic molecules is the presence of carbon as the principal element, bonded to hydrogen and other carbon atoms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"550\"]<img class=\"internal\" src=\"https:\/\/chem.libretexts.org\/@api\/deki\/files\/65874\/CNX_Chem_20_00_OrgCompnd.jpg?revision=1&amp;size=bestfit&amp;height=185\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"129\" \/> <em><strong>Figure 1:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>All organic compounds contain carbon and most are formed by living things, although they are also formed by geological and artificial processes. (credit left: modification of work by Jon Sullivan; credit left middle: modification of work by Deb Tremper; credit right middle: modification of work by \u201cannszyp\u201d\/Wikimedia Commons; credit right: modification of work by George Shuklin)[\/caption]\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm91844560\">Today, organic compounds are key components of plastics, soaps, perfumes, sweeteners, fabrics, pharmaceuticals, and many other substances that we use every day. The value to us of organic compounds ensures that organic chemistry is an important discipline within the general field of chemistry. In this chapter, we discuss why the element carbon gives rise to a vast number and variety of compounds, how those compounds are classified, and the role of organic compounds in representative biological and industrial settings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div id=\"section_1\">\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\">Contributors<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p>Paul Flowers (University of North Carolina - Pembroke),\u00a0Klaus Theopold (University of Delaware) and\u00a0Richard Langley (Stephen F. Austin State University) with contributing authors.\u00a0Textbook content produced by\u00a0<span class=\"list-comma\">OpenStax College<\/span>\u00a0is licensed under a\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0<\/a>license.\u00a0Download for free at\u00a0<a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@9.110\" href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@9.110\" rel=\"freeklink\">http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd...a7ac8df6@9.110<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/science.athabascau.ca\/staff-pages\/dietmark\" href=\"http:\/\/science.athabascau.ca\/staff-pages\/dietmark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Dr. Dietmar Kennepohl<\/a>\u00a0FCIC (Professor of Chemistry,\u00a0<a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/www.athabascau.ca\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.athabascau.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Athabasca University<\/a>)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div id=\"skills\">\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Objectives<\/h3>\n<div id=\"skills\">\n<p>After completing this section, you should be able to<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Define organic chemistry as the study of carbon-containing compounds.<\/li>\n<li>Explain why the results of the experiments carried out by Chevreul and W\u00f6hler contributed to the demise of the \u201cvital force\u201d theory.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>KEY TERMS<\/h3>\n<div id=\"skills\">\n<p class=\"boxtitle\">Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key term below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"skills\">\n<ul>\n<li>organic chemistry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"fs-idm40968368\">All living things on earth are formed mostly of carbon compounds. The prevalence of carbon compounds in living things has led to the epithet \u201ccarbon-based\u201d life. The truth is we know of no other kind of life. Early chemists regarded substances isolated from\u00a0<em>organisms<\/em>\u00a0(plants and animals) as a different type of matter that could not be synthesized artificially, and these substances were thus known as\u00a0<em>organic compounds<\/em>. The widespread belief called vitalism held that organic compounds were formed by a vital force present only in living organisms. The German chemist Friedrich\u00a0<span class=\"no-emphasis\">Wohler<\/span>\u00a0was one of the early chemists to refute this aspect of vitalism, when, in 1828, he reported the synthesis of urea, a component of many body fluids, from nonliving materials. Since then, it has been recognized that organic molecules obey the same natural laws as inorganic substances, and the category of organic compounds has evolved to include both natural and synthetic compounds that contain carbon. Some carbon-containing compounds are\u00a0<em>not<\/em>classified as organic, for example, carbonates and cyanides, and simple oxides, such as CO and CO<sub>2<\/sub>. Although a single, precise definition has yet to be identified by the chemistry community, most agree that a defining trait of organic molecules is the presence of carbon as the principal element, bonded to hydrogen and other carbon atoms.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"internal\" src=\"https:\/\/chem.libretexts.org\/@api\/deki\/files\/65874\/CNX_Chem_20_00_OrgCompnd.jpg?revision=1&amp;size=bestfit&amp;height=185\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"129\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><strong>Figure 1:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>All organic compounds contain carbon and most are formed by living things, although they are also formed by geological and artificial processes. (credit left: modification of work by Jon Sullivan; credit left middle: modification of work by Deb Tremper; credit right middle: modification of work by \u201cannszyp\u201d\/Wikimedia Commons; credit right: modification of work by George Shuklin)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"fs-idm91844560\">Today, organic compounds are key components of plastics, soaps, perfumes, sweeteners, fabrics, pharmaceuticals, and many other substances that we use every day. The value to us of organic compounds ensures that organic chemistry is an important discipline within the general field of chemistry. In this chapter, we discuss why the element carbon gives rise to a vast number and variety of compounds, how those compounds are classified, and the role of organic compounds in representative biological and industrial settings.<\/p>\n<div id=\"section_1\">\n<h3 class=\"editable\">Contributors<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Paul Flowers (University of North Carolina &#8211; Pembroke),\u00a0Klaus Theopold (University of Delaware) and\u00a0Richard Langley (Stephen F. Austin State University) with contributing authors.\u00a0Textbook content produced by\u00a0<span class=\"list-comma\">OpenStax College<\/span>\u00a0is licensed under a\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0<\/a>license.\u00a0Download for free at\u00a0<a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@9.110\" href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@9.110\" rel=\"freeklink\">http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/85abf193-2bd&#8230;a7ac8df6@9.110<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/science.athabascau.ca\/staff-pages\/dietmark\" href=\"http:\/\/science.athabascau.ca\/staff-pages\/dietmark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Dr. Dietmar Kennepohl<\/a>\u00a0FCIC (Professor of Chemistry,\u00a0<a class=\"external\" title=\"http:\/\/www.athabascau.ca\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.athabascau.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\">Athabasca University<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":311,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-18","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":76,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/311"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2216,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/18\/revisions\/2216"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/76"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/18\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-organicchemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}