NSCI 1322 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Ethylene Glycol, Common Ethanol Fuel Mixtures, Lone Pair
12 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Certain groups of atoms in organic molecules are particularly reactive and have characteristic chemical properties. A functional group is a reactive portion of a molecule that undergoes predictable reactions. Many functional groups contain an atom other than carbon that has lone pair(s) of electrons. These lone pairs of electrons contribute to the reactivity of the functional group. All other organic compounds can be considered to be derivatives of hydrocarbons. In these compounds, one or more hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon have been replaced by atoms other than carbon to give a functional group. Many of the important functional groups in organic compounds contain oxygen. Examples are alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and esters. Structurally, you may think of an alcohol as a compound obtained by substituting a hydroxyl group for an atom on a tetrahedral (hybridized) carbon atom of a hydrocarbon group. Ethanol is also a solvent and a starting material for many organic compounds.
