What is an Organic Compound?
Organic compounds are compounds that are produced by living organisms. They are very useful in all living organisms’ reproduction, development, and working. Organic Compounds have special characteristics, in that they all contain carbon atoms. Carbon has a special property called catenation property which helps it to form long-chained compounds. Carbon has four electrons in its outermost shell so it can form four covalent bonds to complete its octet. Carbon forms covalent bonds with other carbon atoms along with it also form bonds with Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and other atoms.
Examples of Organic Compounds
Some examples of common Organic Compounds are as follows:
- Methane (CH4): A most Basic organic compound.
- Ethanol (C2H5OH): A colourless liquid alcohol used as a solvent, and fuel, and also used in alcoholic beverages.
- Glucose (C6H12O6): A simple sugar that is an essential energy source for living organisms.
- Amino Acids: Amino acids are building blocks of life which form all the proteins necessary for life to exist.
- Chlorophyll (C55H72O5N4Mg): Green pigment in plants which gives plants their green colour and help them make food as well.
- Vitamin C (C6H8O6): Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin which is essential for the growth and repair of the human body.
- DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid): A complex organic molecule which stores the instruction for life.
- Polymers: Large molecules made with repeating subunits known as monomers. Some examples include polyethene and polystyrene.
Classification of Organic Compounds
Organic compounds are defined as chemical compounds which contain carbon atoms linked with other elements through simple covalent bonds. These elements could be connected by single covalent bonds, double covalent bonds, or triple covalent bonds. In other words, we can say that all organic compounds contain carbon as their central atom. We must note that all compounds containing carbon are not considered organic compounds, such as carbonates(-CO3), bicarbonates(-HCO3), etc are carbon-containing compounds but not organic. Whereas we can say with surety that all organic compounds contain carbon atoms but vice versa is not true.
In this article, we will learn about organic compounds and their various classification based on bonds, functional groups, and structure. As there are millions of organic compounds and studying them individually is not possible. Therefore, the classification of organic compounds is required. So, let’s start learning about Organic Compounds and their classification.