The branch of chemistry that is concerned with compounds of carbon.   Therefore this deals with living matter, oil products, plastics etc etc.   Because of the extraordinary bonding properties of carbon there are many more organic compounds than inorganic compounds

Until the early 1800's chemical substances relating to living matter were called "organic" materials and were considered fundamentally different to other substances, mainly of mineral based, which were called inorganic substances.  It was considered a "vital force" was necessary to form living (organic) matter.  In 1828 this theory was discredited by Wohler but the term organic has remained.

Most organic substances contain Hydrogen(H) and Carbon(C) and many contain Oxygen(O), Nitrogen, Sulphur (S), Phosphorous (P)and the Halogens Flourine(F), Bromine(Br), Chlorine(Cl) and Iodine(I).   These and other elements are normally bonded to carbon by covalent bonds as opposed to ionic bonds which are typical of inorganic compounds.

The covalent bonds which are relatively weak compared to the ionic bond.  Therefore organic compounds typically have low critical temperatures...

The Pauling electronegativity value for carbon of 2,5 is approximately in the middle of the scale (0,8 to 4,0) covered by all elements. ref electronegativity values )  This number provides a measure of the bonding characteristic.  Carbon being in the middle of the range will for the majority of cases combine with other elements with covalent bonds.  In these bonds the electrons will not be attracted to of from either or the bonded atoms to any great extent.

The total field of organic chemistry is so large that it is necessary to break it down into sub-groups or families of compounds .
Some of these "families are identified below-with links to relevant notes

The IUPAC (The international Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) has produced an accepted naming convention (systematic Nomenclature) for chemicals.. The name includes

A simple molecule illustrating the naming convention is shown below

An aliphatic compound is any chemical compound belonging to the organic class in which the atoms are not linked together to form a ring.   A major structural groups of organic molecules, the aliphatic compounds include the alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes, and substances derived from them, by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms by atoms of other elements or groups of atoms.

These saturated hydrocarbons with the general formula C_nH_n+2.    All of these substances end with -ane(the IUPAC suffix) and include those listed below.   The stem names relate to the number of carbon atoms in the molecules as shown below

etc.etc.

There is no IUPAC prefix for the alkanes as described here.

The lower members of the series are gases and the higher molecular weight alkanes are waxy solids.  Alkanes are obtained from natural gas and petroleum.

Note; A methyl group is simply CH₃.The straight alkane chains are formed by the successive replacement of the end hydrogen atom by a methyl group as shown below...

Methane (CH₄)......

Ethane (C₂H₆)......

Propane (C₃H₈)......

Butane (C₄H₁₀)......

Pentane (C₅H₁₂)......

Hexhane (C₆H₁₄)......

Heptane (C₇H₁₆)......

etc. etc.

These are organic compounds in which more one or more hydrogen atoms of the alkane series have been replaced by halogen atoms(atoms with one electron short of stable structure )..Example are chloromethane CH₃Cl, Dibromethane CH₂BrCH₂Br etc.   These can be formed by direct radiation between the constituent substances with ultravoilet light..

These are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain at least one double carbon bond.   The general formula for alkenes with only one double bond in the molecule is C_nH_2n where n is the number of carbon atoms in the molecule.

The double bond between two carbon atoms is not twice as strong, -the second bond formed between the carbon atoms is weaker than the first.   Thus, the second bond is more vulnerable to attack by suitable reagents, even under fairly mild conditions.   The reactions of this second bond tend to be addition reactions causing the unsaturated carbon atoms become saturated.   The alkenes are therefore more reactive than alkanes.

The alkenes are highly flammable and burn readily in air, forming carbon dioxide and water,. For example, ethene burns as follows :

C₂H₄ + 3 O₂ ==> 2 CO₂ + 2 H₂O

The first three alkenes are gases, the intermediate alkenes are liquids and higher members of the olefin series are wax like solids at room temperature.    The alkenes are insoluble in water, but are soluble in organic solvents.   The liquids and solids have a density less than water.

These are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain at least one triple carbon bond.

The names of all alkynes end in "-yne".      In the case of higher members of the alkene series, the triple bond may be between the terminal carbon atoms of the chain, or may be between internal carbon atoms in the chain.
.
Alkyne properties
Alkynes are compounds which have low polarity, and have physical properties that are similar to those of the alkanes and alkenes.

Lewis structures for two alkynes are shown below..

Aromatic compounds are a major class of chemical compounds whose molecular structure includes one or more planar rings of atoms joined by covalent bonds of two different kinds.   The term aromatic was first used in 1860 for a group of hydrocarbons isolated from coal tar and characterised by their strong odours. In chemistry, aromaticity has come to denote the chemical behaviour of this class of molecules.

An aromatic is a organic compound that contains a benzene ring in is molecule or has very similar chemical properties to benzene.  Aromatic compounds are unsaturated yet they do easily complete addition reactions.

Benzene comprises a hexagonal ring of carbon atoms possible lewis structures are shown below.   However in practice the carbon-carbon bonds would not be double and single..they would be would be bonds intermediate between double and single...

All alcohol compounds end with ..ol e.g. methanol, ethanol.

Primary alcohols have two hydrogen atoms on the carbon joined to the -OH groups.   Secondary alcohols have only one hydrogen atom on the carbon joined to the OH group.   Tertiary alcohols have no hydrogen atoms on the carbon attached to the -OH molecule.


For example
The ethanol formula can be written CH₃ CH₂OH
this is a primary alcohol.

The 2- propanol molecule can be written as shown below..This is a secondary alcohol

Note: Thio -> sulphur containing

Thiols have an older name "mercaptan" . This relates to their ability to react with mercury.  They are named according to the hydrocarbon e.g ethane thiol C₂H₅SH.

These chemicals generally have a strong odour.  They are, unlike alcohols strongly acidic forming saltlike substances when reacting with metals and alkalis.

These are usually liquids with pleasant odour , but some aromatic and the higher aliphatic ethers are crystalline solids.   They are insoluable in water but soluble in alcohol and diethyl ether.  The commonest ether diethyl ether is usually simply called ether.  Diethyl ether (ethoxyethene) is an anaesthetic and a very useful organic solvent

These compounds are volatile and highly flammable.

The ethers are made by dehydrating alcohols using sulphuric acid.

Thio 0> Suphur containing..
Thioethers are organic compounds containing the group -S- linked to two hydrocarbon groups.   The thioethers are named according to the linked organic molecules.   The organics molecules identified in alphabetic order see examples below.

These compounds are generally more reactive than the related ethers.

These are organic compound containing the group as shown below attached directly onto another carbon atom.

Methanal (formaldahyde) HCHO is a member of this group although it is not a typical aldehyde.   Aledehydes are normally colourless liquids (aliphatic) or solids ((higher aromatics) with characteristic colours.   These compounds are oxidized to acids and reduced to primary alcohols.

Aldehydes are formed by oxidation of primary alcohols.

Chemistry naming conventions always end this range of chemicals with -one Where Aldehydes have the C=O group (carbonyl) on an end carbon atom Ketones have it on a middle carbon atom. Secondary alcohols can be oxidixed into ketones.

Acetone (propanone) as shown below is the simplest ketone.  It is made by the oxidation of propan-2-ol .   It is a solvent and is used in the manufacture of plastics.

These include at least one carboxyl group -COOH as shown below

Typical carboxylic acids include methanoic (formic) acid (HCOOH->HCO₂H), ethanoic acid-acetic acid (CH₃COOH), butanoic acid (CH₃CH₂CH₂COOH ).   Because carboxylic acids have both a lone oxygen and an OH group, they are strongly hydrogen-bonded to each other, therefore having high boiling points.
Because a large number of carboxylic acids occur naturally in fats and oils these are therefore also known as "fatty acids". The carboxyl group is weakly acidic and all carboxylic acids neutralize OH-.

Esters are organic compounds formed by reactions between alcohols and acids .  Esters containing simple hydrocarbon groups are volatile fragrant substances used as flavourings in the food industry.   In esters one of the oxygens has a double bond the other oxygen atom is bonded to a carbon atom of a hydrocarbon.   >/p>

These organic compounds are produced by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms in ammonia with an organic group.

Amines are classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on whether one, two, or three of the hydrogen atoms of ammonia have been replaced by organic groups.   Diamines, triamines, and polyamines contain two, three, or more nitrogen groupings of the types identified.

Amines are alkaline to various levels of intensity.   Amines can be aliphatic or aromatic in nature..

Aniline, ethanolamines, and numerous other amines are major industrial chemicals used in making rubber, dyes, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic resins and fibres and in a host of other applications.

The lower molecular weight amines have a fishy-putrid odour.  The aliphatic amines have densities 600 to 800 kg/m³ and aromatic amines have densities about + 1000kg/m³.

A large group of organic compounds containing both the carboxyl group COOH and the amino group NH₂.  These include Glycine H₂NCH₂COOH.  Many proteins are built up entirely of amino acid groupings by condensation between the NH₂ and COOH groups.
The amino acids are colourless, crystalline substances which melt with decomposition.  They are mostly soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol.

The two simplest amino acids are shown below:...

A group of organic compounds based on the general formula C _x(H ₂O) _y.   The simplest carbohydrates include sugars (saccharides)including glucose and sucrose.

Carbohydrates perform vital roles in living organisms .  Sugars, including glucose, and their derivatives are essential intermediates in the conversion of food to energy.   Starch and other saccharides serve as energy stores in plants.....

These are compounds in which metals ions or atoms are bound to organic groups via a carbon to metal bond. These may have single metal to carbon bonds as in Aluminium Alkyls (Al(CH₃)₃.   The compounds can also be more complicated double bonds...

A more precise description is "Organometallics relates to compounds in which an organics group is attached through carbon to an atom which is less electronegative than carbon."

Organometallics predates organic chemistry and is now one of the largest forms of chemistry mainly in the petrochemical industry.   This chemistry breaks down the barriers between organic and inorganic chemistry.

It is recommended that further reference on this topic is made to Organometallics