UNIT OVERVIEW

Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. Carbon is found in the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel in vehicles, and even in your own body.

Carbon atoms can bond to each other in chains, branches, and rings. This allows carbon to form millions of different compounds. To communicate about these compounds, chemists use a universal naming system called IUPAC nomenclature (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry).

In this unit, you will learn:

• Why carbon can form so many different compounds
• The major functional groups that give organic molecules their properties
• The IUPAC naming system for compounds with up to 8 carbon atoms
• How to draw structural, condensed, and molecular formulae
• The difference between saturated and unsaturated compounds
• How structural isomers have the same molecular formula but different structures

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