Carbon Chemistry

Properties of Carbon

• Atomic number is 6• 4 valence electrons available for

bonding• Each carbon atom can form 4 bonds

and can combine with itself and other elements in many ways.

• Carbon atoms can form straight chains, branched chains, and rings.

Examples

4 Forms of Pure Carbon

• 1. Diamond - a crystalline form of carbon in which each carbon atom is bonded strongly to four other carbon atoms.

• Extremely hard and nonreactive.• Melting point is greater than 3500

degrees C (as hot as the surface of some stars)

Diamond structure

• 2. Graphite - each carbon atom is bonded tightly to three other carbon atoms in flat layers.

• Bonds between layers are very weak, so layers slide past one another easily.

• Used in lead pencils and is slippery.

• Makes a good lubricant in machines.

Graphite

• 3. Fullerene - carbon atoms arranged in the shape of a hollow sphere.

• Made by scientists in 1985.

• Named after Buckminster Fuller

• One type of fullerene is called a “buckyball”

Buckyball

• 4. Nanotube - carbon atoms are arranged in the shape of a long, hollow cylinder.

• Like a sheet of graphite rolled into a tube.• Made in 1991.• Tiny, light, flexible, and extremely strong.• Good conductors of heat and electricity.

Nanotube

Carbon Compounds• More than 90% of all known compounds contain

carbon (that’s nearly everything you can think of!)• Compounds containing carbon are called

Organic compounds. • Scientists once thought that organic compounds

could only be produced by living things. (Can now be made artificially from petroleum, or crude oil.)

• Many organic compounds have similar properties in terms of melting points(low), boiling points(low), odor(strong), electrical conductivity(none), and solubility(none).

Hydrocarbons

• Simplest organic compounds. Contain only the elements carbon and hydrogen.

• Mix poorly with water.• Flammable (used as fuels).• Simplest is methane (CH4)• 2 carbons = Ethane (C2H6)• 3 carbons = Propane (C3H8).

Saturated Hydrocarbons

• A hydrocarbon in which each carbon atom in the molecule shares a single bond with each of four other atoms.

• Covalent bonds.• “saturated” because no other atoms can

be added without replacing an atom that is part of the molecule.

• These are called Alkanes.

First 4 Alkanes

Unsaturated Hydrocarbons

• A hydrocarbon in which at least two carbon atoms share a double bond or a triple bond.

• Double bonded hydrocarbons are called Alkenes

• Triple bonded hydrocarbons are called Alkynes

• “unsaturated” because double or triple bond can be broken to allow more atoms to be added to the molecule.

Alkenes and Alkynes

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

• Most are based on benzene.

• Often have strong odors.

Other Organic Compounds

• Alcohols and phenols (antioxidants)• Organic acids/ Carboxylic acids (asprin)• Esters, thiols, disulfides (anesthetics)• Halogen containing (CFC’s)• Amines and Amides/ Alkyl halides• Aldehdyes and Ketones (Vanilla,

formaldehyde, acetone• Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic

acids

This weeks Project

• Nutrition chart

• Name of food

• Serving size (you can convert this later)

• Total calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron, sodium