CHAPTER 14: An Introduction to Organic Chemistry
- Organic Compounds
- Organic Reactions
- Isomerism
Learning outcomes:
- interpret, and use the general, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae of the following classes of compound:
- alkanes and alkenes
- halogenoalkanes
- alcohols (including primary, secondary and tertiary).
- aldehydes and ketones
- carboxylic acids and esters
[Candidates will be expected to recognise the shape of the benzene ring when it is present in organic compounds. ftnowledge of benzene or its compounds is not required for AS.]
- interpret, and use the following terminology associated with organic reactions:
- functional group
- homolytic and heterolytic fission
- free radical, initiation, propagation, termination
- nucleophile, electrophile
- addition, substitution, elimination, hydrolysis
- oxidation and reduction
[in equations for organic redox reactions, the symbols [O] and [H] are acceptable]
- (i) describe the shapes of the ethane and ethene molecules
(ii) predict the shapes of other related molecules. - explain the shapes of the ethane and ethene molecules in terms of σ and π carbon-carbon bonds.
- describe structural isomerism, and its division into chain, positional and functional group isomerism.
- describe stereoisomerism, and its division into geometrical (cis-trans) and optical isomerism
- describe cis-trans isomerism in alkenes, and explain its origin in terms of restricted rotation due to the presence of π bonds
- explain what is meant by a chiral centre and that such a centre gives rise to optical isomerism
- identify chiral centres and/or cis-trans isomerism in a molecule of given structural formula
- deduce the possible isomers for an organic molecule of known molecular formula
- deduce the molecular formula of a compound, given its structural, displayed or skeletal formula.