Organic compounds are those that contain carbon. There are more organic compounds than inorganic compounds. May organic compounds are synthesized but proteins, enzymes, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, vitamins, etc. are well known organic compounds. There are over 16 million known organic compounds.

Carbon forms covalent bonds by sharing its electrons It can share with other atoms and with other carbon atoms, and it can form multiple bonds. The key to understanding chemistry is to study the strucure of compounds. The properties of a substance are dependent on the atoms it contains and the way in which the atoms are connected. Understanding structure allows us to predict the properties of a substance.

Atomic Structure

Recall that an atom is the smallest part of an element that still has all of the characteristics of that element. The nuclear region contains the protons and neutrons, while the extranuclear region contains the electrons. Each element is identified by the atomic number, Z. The mass number, A, of an atom is the sum of the protons and the neutrons. Isotopes have the same Z but a different A due to the difference in the number of neutrons.