Organic Chemistry Concepts and Terminology

What did early chemists believe about how organic compounds were made?

• They could only be created in laboratories.

• They were found only in non-living materials.

• They could only be produced by living organisms.

• They were simple, inorganic chemicals.

What discovery helped scientists understand that organic molecules could be created in a lab?

• The isolation of carbon from coal.

• The synthesis of urea from an inorganic compound.

• The identification of carbon on other planets.

• The study of hydrocarbons.

What feature of carbon allows it to form many different types of structures?

• It is a very heavy element.

• It has four valence electrons.

• It is always found as a gas.

• It can only bond with one other atom.

What term describes molecules that have the same chemical formula but different arrangements of atoms?

• Hydrocarbons

• Alkanes

• Isomers

• Polymers

What does the prefix "prop-" mean in chemistry when naming a carbon chain?

• Two carbon atoms

• Three carbon atoms

• Four carbon atoms

• Five carbon atoms

How are alkanes always named?

• Based on the shortest possible continuous chain.

• Based on the number of hydrogen atoms.

• Based on the longest possible continuous carbon chain.

• Based on the number of branches in the structure.

What suffix is added to the name of a shorter carbon chain when it is attached to a longer carbon chain?

• -ANE

• -ENE

• -YNE

• -YL

What are the two main products when a pure hydrocarbon completely burns?

• Oxygen and water vapor

• Carbon dioxide and oxygen

• Carbon dioxide and water vapor

• Heat and light