What is organic chemistry

What is organic chemistry, and why should you study it? The answers to these questions are all around you. Every living organism is made of organic chemi- cals. The proteins that make up your hair, skin, and muscles; the DNA that controls your genetic heritage; the foods that nourish you; and the medicines that heal you are all organic chemicals. Anyone with a curiosity about life and living things, and anyone who wants to be a part of the remarkable advances now occurring in medicine and the biological sciences, must first understand organic chemistry. Look at the following drawings for instance, which show the chemical structures of some molecules whose names might be familiar to you. Although the drawings may appear unintelligible at this point, don’t worry. Before long, they’ll make perfectly good sense, and you’ll soon be drawing simi- lar structures for any substance you’re interested in.

Little more than a decade later, the vitalistic theory suffered still further when Friedrich Wöhler discovered in 1828 that it was possible to convert the “inorganic” salt ammonium cyanate into the “organic” substance urea, which had previously been found in human urine.

By the mid-1800s, the weight of evidence was clearly against the vitalistic theory and it was clear that there was no fundamental difference between organic and inorganic compounds. The same fundamental principles explain the behaviors of all substances, regardless of origin or complexity. The only distinguishing characteristic of organic chemicals is that all contain the ele- ment carbon.

Organic chemistry, then, is the study of carbon compounds. But why is carbon special? Why, of the more than 50 million presently known chemical compounds, do most of them contain carbon? The answers to these questions come from carbon’s electronic structure and its consequent position in the peri- odic table. As a group 4A element, carbon can share four valence electrons and form four strong covalent bonds. Furthermore, carbon atoms can bond to one another, forming long chains and rings. Carbon, alone of all ele- ments, is able to form an immense diversity of compounds, from the simple methane, with one carbon atom, to the staggeringly complex DNA, which can have more than 100 million carbons.

Not all carbon compounds are derived from living organisms of course. Mod- ern chemists have developed a remarkably sophisticated ability to design and synthesize new organic compounds in the laboratory—medicines, dyes, poly- mers, and a host of other substances. Organic chemistry touches the lives of everyone; its study can be a fascinating undertaking.