Organic Chemistry

Organic and Inorganic Compounds Page 3 of 15

IV. LESSON PROPER

The feat of imitating nature in the laboratory was a truly exciting experience —as
Wöhler expressed it in his often-quoted letter to Berzelius:

"I can no longer, so to speak, hold my chemical water and must tell you that I can
make urea without needing a kidney, whether of man or dog; the ammonium salt of
cyanic acid is urea." Wöhler (1800-1882)

Urea is a chemical contained within our urine. It is produced in the kidneys. The
comments above refer to the synthesizing of urea. Prior to Wöhler’s synthesis of
urea from inorganic compounds (1828), it was thought that naturally occurring compounds from plants or animals
were produced by some mysterious force which was called a vital force. It was believed that man would never be
able to synthesize these compounds. Wöhler, however, who had often seen the long thin crystals of urea when
experimenting with waste products in urine, produced these same crystals (accidentally) upon heating ammonium
cyanate. Thus, with the old vital force theory disproved, many other chemists began trying to synthesize organic
compounds.

Wöhler is also well-known for his inorganic chemistry interests, having successfully extracted aluminum and beryllium
from their compounds by chemical means in 1827, the same year he synthesized urea. Among other contributions he
prepared calcium carbide and discovered various silicon compounds, demonstrating close analogies to the chemistry of
carbon. To him also is due the isolation of the elements yttrium and titanium, and the discovery that some meteoric
stones contain organic matter.

The terms organic and inorganic are used to distinguish between two different groups of substances. What comes to
mind when you think of the words organic and inorganic?

Organic substances are considered to include all compounds of carbon except oxides of carbon, carbonates, carbides
and cyanides. These exceptions, plus the substances of the remaining elements are considered to be inorganic.
Three to four million organic compounds are known compared with only about 50 000 inorganic compounds.
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Organic and Inorganic Compounds

Organic substances include those derived from living organisms as well as numerous synthetic substances.

Examples of organic materials are:

Foodstuffs (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) Cosmetics

Fuels Some agricultural chemicals (some fertilizers,
Greases and lubricating oils insecticides and pesticides)
Fabrics (cotton, wool, rayon, nylon, polyesters) Perfumes and flavours
Wood and paper products Some explosives
Antibiotics and vitamins Paints, varnishes and lacquers
Dyes and pigments Plastics and elastomer
Soaps and detergents

It should be mentioned that not everyone agrees where the distinction between organic and inorganic compounds
should be!

One definition was in common use: "Using or produced with fertilizers of only animal or vegetable matter." Another is
the one used by scientists until about 1850, from which the first is derived: "Of or derived from living organisms." But
the one we use in chemistry is this: "Of or designating carbon compounds." As for compounds being created
synthetically in labs, not only do they have properties similar to organic compounds; they are organic compounds. In
fact there is no difference whatsoever between the synthetic compound and the one extracted by living organisms.
Some state the definition of organic compounds simply that:

“Organic substances contain hydrogen combined with carbon; inorganic substances don't. “

While another has stated that:

“I believe that "organic" vs. "inorganic" originally stemmed from the ancient idea that compounds could be divided into
two categories; those isolated from plants and animals (organic) and those extracted from minerals and ores
(inorganic). As a working definition, now we think of organic chemistry as primarily being the chemistry of carbon-
containing compounds. Most carbon-containing compounds have one or more of the following: H,N,O,S,P. Some
authors describe organic chemistry as the study of compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen. By this definition,
CO2 would be "inorganic." But I would like to stress that in fact there is no general agreement on such semantics, and I'd
bet that a lot of chemists consider CO2 to be "organic" because it contains C and O.”

So, where should the distinction be? Is CO2 organic or inorganic? Are organic compounds only ones that were once-
living? It seems that people who think that CO 2 is organic are in the minority, and thus, for the purpose of this
assignment and this course, we will consider CO 2 to be inorganic and go with the original distinction mentioned in the
examples above. As for the synthetically created organic compounds – the majority of chemists consider these to be
organic, so again, we will use this for the purposes of this course.
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Organic and Inorganic Compounds

a. Urea
b. Organic compounds
c. Inorganic Compounds
d. Vital force
Did You Know?
Organic and inorganic chemistry are two of the main disciplines of chemistry. An organic chemist studies organic
molecules and reactions, while an inorganic chemistry focuses on inorganic reactions.

Examples of Organic Compounds or Molecules

Molecules associated with living organisms are organic. These include nucleic acids, fats, sugars, proteins, enzymes,
and hydrocarbon fuels. All organic molecules contain carbon, nearly all contain hydrogen, and many also contain
oxygen.
• DNA
• table sugar or sucrose, C12H22O11
• benzene, C6H6
• methane, CH4
• ethanol or grain alcohol, C2H6O

Examples of Inorganic Compounds

Inorganics include salts, metals, substances made from single elements and any other compounds that don't contain
carbon bonded to hydrogen. Some inorganic molecules do, in fact, contain carbon.
• table salt or sodium chloride, NaCl
• carbon dioxide, CO2
• diamond (pure carbon)
• silver
• sulfur
Organic Compounds Without C-H Bonds

Few organic compounds don't contain carbon-hydrogen bonds. Examples of these exceptions include
• carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)
• urea [CO(NH2)2]
Organic Compounds and Life

While most organic compounds encountered in chemistry are produced by living organisms, it's possible for the
molecules to form through other processes.
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Organic and Inorganic Compounds

For example, when scientists talk about organic molecules discovered on Pluto, this doesn't mean there are aliens on
the world. Solar radiation can provide energy to produce organic compounds from inorganic carbon compounds.

Did you know?

1.) Bones and teeth, the hard tissues in the human body, are made partly of organic and partly of
inorganic material. The inorganic component mainly consists of a substance called hydroxyapatite.
The simplest formula of hydroxyapatite is Ca 5 (PO4 )3 (OH)
The outer layer of your teeth is the hardest material in your body and is called enamel. Enamel
consists of approximately 92% hydroxyapatite. Enamel is a ceramic material.

Beneath the enamel, the bulk of a tooth is made of dentin. This is a composite material and contains a
mixture of hydroxyapatite, collagen, water, and salts. Collagen is an organic substance

2.) Pearls, including freshwater pearls are delicate organic gems that are made of the natural product
called calcium carbonate. This product is drawn from the lake or river by the mussel that the pearl
lives in.

Your freshwater pearls were once living and growing so you will need to make sure that as with all
living things they stay out of harm. The products that harm pearls most are the very things that the
woman who loves pearls probably wears without a second thought. You've guessed it already - the
most harmful product to a pearl is the application of perfume, hair spray and cosmetics and face
creams when the owner is wearing the pearls

3.) Some organic molecules, such as the amino acid glycine, have been found in interstellar space where
there are no living things. (How, then could this organic molecule be produced by a vital force?)

4.) Organic Chemistry has just recently been expanded to include compounds of Silicon since Silicon is
similar in behavior to Carbon being in the same group within the Periodic Table. Given that the main
material in which micro-chips of the computer age have as their foundation is Silicon, isn’t it fitting that
the main element establishing living organisms should be merged with the main element involved in
the inanimate
machine world?
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Organic and Inorganic Compounds

Remember that organic compounds are compounds that were either once-
living or derived from something that was once living, or, they can be
synthesized.

Table salt (Sodium Chloride – NaCl)

Crystal structure of NaCl

Butter (containing triglycerides)

A lipid (triglyceride) molecule)

Coal (made of C (60-90%), H, O and in some cases, S)

Example chemical structure of coal

Piece of iron (Fe)