Introduction to Organic Chemistry

How organic compounds are classified by their carbon skeleton and functional groups, and how the hybridisation of carbon (sp³, sp², sp) fixes their shapes; empirical, molecular, structural, displayed, skeletal and 3-D formulae, with formulae worked out from combustion data; homologous series and the full IUPAC rules for naming compounds with one or more functional groups; and structural, geometric (cis–trans and E/Z) and optical isomerism.

2

Alkanes

Where alkanes come from and how branched chains and rings are named; chain and optical isomerism in alkanes; how chain length and branching control boiling point, state and solubility; laboratory routes to alkanes (hydrogenation, decarboxylation, Kolbe electrolysis, the Wurtz reaction and Grignard reagents); combustion, free-radical substitution and its mechanism, and cracking; and the uses of alkanes and the pollution they cause.

3

Alkenes and Alkynes

The C=C and C≡C bonds and the shapes, names and E/Z isomers they give; making alkenes by eliminating water or hydrogen halides, and Zaitsev's rule; electrophilic addition and its mechanism, with Markovnikov's rule explained by carbocation stability; oxidation by manganate(VII) and ozone, hydrogenation and addition polymerisation; and the preparation, addition reactions, hydration, acidity, tests and uses of alkynes.

4

Halogenoalkanes (Alkyl Halides)

What halogenoalkanes are, how they are named and classified as primary, secondary or tertiary, and their isomers; how the polar C–X bond and its strength shape their physical properties and reactivity; making them from alkanes, alkenes and alcohols; nucleophilic substitution by the SN1 and SN2 mechanisms, and elimination; the silver nitrate test; and their uses, with the damage CFCs do to the ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment.

5

Alcohols and Ethers

Alcohols: their structure, names, classes and isomers, and how hydrogen bonding gives them high boiling points and solubility in water; making them by hydration, hydrolysis, reduction, Grignard reagents and fermentation; their reactions as acids, in substitution, dehydration, esterification and oxidation, with the Lucas, dichromate and iodoform tests; the uses and dangers of ethanol and methanol; and ethers, their names, properties, preparation, reactions and uses.

6

Amines and Amino Acids

How amines are classified and named, and why their boiling points and solubilities fall between those of alkanes and alcohols; how amines are prepared and how their lone pair makes them bases and nucleophiles; the structure of amino acids, their zwitterions, isoelectric points and optical isomerism; and how amino acids join by peptide bonds into the polypeptides and proteins of living things.

7

Phase Diagrams

Phase equilibrium between solid, liquid and vapour, and the difference between homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria; vapour pressure and why water boils below 100 °C in Kigali; how to read the phase diagrams of water and carbon dioxide, with their triple and critical points; why water expands on freezing while most substances contract; and how phase diagrams explain pressure cookers, autoclaves, freeze-drying, supercritical carbon dioxide and gas cylinders.

8

Solutions and Titration

Standard and primary standard solutions, and how to prepare them by weighing a solid or by dilution; acid–base titrations and back titrations; redox titrations with potassium manganate(VII) and potassium dichromate(VI); iodimetric and iodometric titrations with sodium thiosulfate; and how titration results give the water of crystallisation in a salt, the molar mass of an acid and the relative atomic mass of a metal.

9

Conductivity of Solutions

How electrolyte solutions conduct, and how this differs from conduction in metals; conductance, conductivity and the cell constant; molar conductivity and how it changes with concentration for strong and weak electrolytes; Kohlrausch's law of independent migration of ions and its use to find degrees of ionisation and acid dissociation constants; and conductometric titrations and the solubility products of sparingly soluble salts.

10

Electrolysis

Electrolytic cells and what decides which ions are discharged; the electrolysis of water, of molten sodium chloride and of dilute and concentrated sodium chloride solution; the electrolysis of copper(II) sulfate with inert and with copper electrodes, and its use to refine copper and to electroplate; Faraday's first and second laws, with calculations of the masses and volumes of products; and the industrial applications of electrolysis.

Units