9/7/2014
ALEKS Alex H. Yuan - 09/07/2014 10:23:57 PM EDT - Copyright © 2014 UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation
Alex H. Yuan - 09/07/2014 10:23:57 PM EDT
General Chemistry (First Semester) / Chem 110 FA 2014 – CH110 FA14 S25-36 (Dr. Barber)
1.
Identifying organic compounds
Classify each of these chemical compounds:
compound
type of compound
(check all that apply)
molecular
ionic
H 3 PO 4
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
molecular
ionic
Fe Br 3
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
molecular
ionic
CH2CH2
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
You can solve this problem by using some key facts about organic chemical compounds:
Organic compounds always contain carbon.
Organic compounds are almost always molecular compounds.
All hydrocarbons are organic compounds.
A hydrocarbon is a molecular compound made of carbon and hydrogen. Because carbon atoms can
bond together into huge chains and nets, hydrocarbons can contain very large and complex
molecules. Here are the Lewis structures of a few of the simplest hydrocarbons:
https://secure.aleks.com/alekscgi/x/Isl.exe/1o_u-IgNsIkr7j8P3jH-lJiYsPgPQIfQokR4hWMNIe-wKsFh3XosS7UdbJJbec5v-bErzeXkMW4CvqF-zDdQSH…
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9/7/2014
ALEKS Alex H. Yuan - 09/07/2014 10:23:57 PM EDT - Copyright © 2014 UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation
H
H
H
C
H
H
H
H
H
C
C
H
H
H
H
H
C
C
C
H
C
C
H
methane
ethane
H
cyclopentadiene
Inorganic compounds are compounds that aren't organic. For example, ionic compounds are almost
always inorganic compounds.
Note: the division between organic and inorganic compounds is not always clean and simple.
Modern chemists work with many compounds that aren't easily classified as one or the other.
Sometimes such compounds have specialized names like organometallic or bioinorganic. ALEKS
won't ask you to classify such compounds, but you should be aware they exist.
With these general ideas in mind, let's classify each compound in the table:
Phosphoric acid
is a molecular compound that doesn't contain carbon. That means
it's probably not an organic compound, so you'll check off the "molecular" and "inorganic"
boxes.
Iron (III) bromide
bromide
is an ionic compound made from iron (III)
cations and
anions. That means you'll check off the "ionic" and "inorganic" boxes.
Ethylene
is a molecular compound made only from hydrogen and carbon. That is,
it's a hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds, so you'll check off the "molecular,"
"organic," and "hydrocarbon" boxes.
Here is the completed table:
https://secure.aleks.com/alekscgi/x/Isl.exe/1o_u-IgNsIkr7j8P3jH-lJiYsPgPQIfQokR4hWMNIe-wKsFh3XosS7UdbJJbec5v-bErzeXkMW4CvqF-zDdQSH…
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9/7/2014
ALEKS Alex H. Yuan - 09/07/2014 10:23:57 PM EDT - Copyright © 2014 UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation
compound
type of compound
(check all that apply)
molecular
ionic
H 3 PO 4
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
molecular
ionic
Fe Br 3
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
molecular
ionic
CH2CH2
organic
inorganic
hydrocarbon
Copyright © 2014 UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation
https://secure.aleks.com/alekscgi/x/Isl.exe/1o_u-IgNsIkr7j8P3jH-lJiYsPgPQIfQokR4hWMNIe-wKsFh3XosS7UdbJJbec5v-bErzeXkMW4CvqF-zDdQSH…
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