CHEM 2261 Chapter : Chapter 1 Notes
Document Summary
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds. In 1828, friedrich wohler attempted to synthesize ammonium cyanate (nh4cno(s)) by this reaction: He filtered off the agcl(s) and evaporated the remaining water, hoping to isolate nh4cno(s). He obtained a white solid, but it wasn"t ammonium cyanate. Instead, he obtained this compound, known as urea: Previously, urea had only been isolated from natural sources. This was the first organic chemical synthesized in the laboratory from inorganic substances! We now believe that there is no difference between "natural" and "synthetic" organic chemicals. In theory, every chemical substance synthesized in nature can also be made in the chemical laboratory. Atomic number (z): number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Mass number (a): total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. 12c has 6 protons + 6 neutrons, 197au has 79 protons and 118 neutrons. Isotopes: have the same z but different mass numbers.
