2. hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons

  • Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds

  • Carbon forms a vast number of compounds because it can form strong covalent bonds with itself

  • This enables it to form long chains of carbon atoms, branched chains or cycles, and hence an almost infinite variety of carbon compounds are known

  • Carbon always forms four covalent bonds which can be single, double or triple bonds

Examples of carbon structures

Three chemical structures: linear chain of carbon atoms, branched carbon chain, and a hexagonal ring of carbon atoms, each with attached hydrogen atoms.