MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Atoms
  2. 2The periodic table
  3. 3Bonding
  4. 4Reactions
  5. 5Acids and bases
  6. 6States of matter
  7. 7Mixtures and separation
  8. 8Organic chemistry
  9. 9Chemistry around you
  10. 10Working safely

Chapter 8 of 10

Organic chemistry

Why carbon gets its own branch.

Carbon

Carbon forms four stable bonds and links to itself in chains and rings, so it builds an effectively unlimited variety of molecules. Every living thing is built on that property.

  • Hydrocarbons are chains of carbon and hydrogen: fuels and plastics.
  • Functional groups attached to the chain decide how a molecule behaves.

Polymers

Small repeating units join into long chains. Plastics, proteins, starch and DNA are all polymers, differing in the unit and the pattern rather than the principle.