What is Organic Chemistry? | Types, Definition, Structure, Function & Facts

What is Organic Chemistry?

Organic chemistry is the study of compounds containing the element carbon. This is a broad topic that overlaps with other sciences such as biochemistry, medicine, and materials science. Organic chemists study the properties, structure, and chemical reactions of organic compounds.

Why is Carbon Important?

Carbon is the central element of all living things. It is the basis of all life on earth. By studying carbon and organic compounds, scientists can learn more about life, the human body, and how it works.

Organic Molecules

Most organic molecules are made up of long rings or chains of carbon atoms attached to atoms of other elements. Besides carbon (C), common elements found in organic compounds include hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S).

Here are some examples of Organic Molecules:

Carbohydrates – Carbohydrates consist only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are composed of starches and sugars and play an important role in our daily lives.

Lipids – Lipids consisting of fats and waxes. They are used for long-term energy storage in life form.

Proteins – Protein is made up of long chains of amino acids. Proteins play an important role in almost every process that takes place in the cell.

Nucleic Acids – Nucleic acids are long chains of components such as DNA and RNA. DNA contains information such as genes for protein molecules to use. RNA helps move the DNA code from storage to where it can be used.

Types of Organic Compounds or Functional Groups

There are several types of organic compounds. Scientists divide them into functional groups based on the common element type of the group besides carbon. These groups have similar properties because they have similar molecules.

Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons form a functional group of organic compounds consisting of only hydrogen and carbon atoms. Within the hydrocarbon group are other groups such as alkanes. Alkanes include ethane, propane, methane, and butane. Many of these compounds are used for heating and cooking. Other hydrocarbon groups are alkenes and alkynes.

Other elements

Other elements that carbon combines with to form organic compounds include oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and boron.

Organic Synthesis

Organic synthesis is the process of creating organic compounds. Many of the products we use every day are made from organic compounds that are produced in large factories. Examples of these include plastics, alcohol, rubber, and dyes.

What is the difference between Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry?

We have learned that organic chemistry is the study of compounds containing carbon. On the other hand, biochemistry is the study of chemical processes in biological systems. These two sciences often overlap because organic compounds play important roles in many chemical processes.

Interesting Facts about Organic Chemistry

Carbon occurs in its pure form in nature as graphite and diamond.

About 18% of the human body is made up of carbon atoms.

Charles Goodyear discovered that combining rubber with sulfur allowed the rubber to be more resistant to temperatures.

Synthetic dyes made from organic compounds allow the production of dyes instead of using plants as dyes.

DNA molecules are very long. If you stretch one out, it will be about three feet long.