Introduction to organic chemistry, 5th Edition

Book Preface

This text is designed for an introductory course in organic chemistry and assumes, as background, a prior course of general chemistry. Both its form and content have been shaped by our experiences in the classroom and by our assessment of the present and future direction of the brief organic course.

A brief course in organic chemistry must achieve several goals. First, most students who elect this course are oriented toward careers in science, but few if any intend to become professional chemists; rather, they are preparing for careers in areas that require a grounding in the essentials of organic chemistry. here is the place to examine the structure, properties, and reactions of rather simple molecules. Students can then build on this knowledge in later course work and professional life.

Second, an introductory course must portray something of the scope and content of organic chemistry as well as its tremendous impact on the ways we live and work. To do this, we have included specific examples of pharmaceuticals, plastics, soaps and detergents, natural and synthetic textile fibers, petroleum refining, petrochemicals, pesticides, artificial flavoring agents, chemical ecology, and so on at appropriate points in the text.

Third, a brief course must convince students that organic chemistry is more than just a catalog of names and reactions. There are certain organizing themes or principles, which not only make the discipline easier to understand, but also provide a way to analyze new chemistry. The relationship between molecular structure and chemical reactivity is one such theme. electronic theory of organic chemistry, including lewis structures, atomic orbitals, the hybridization of atomic orbitals, and the theory of resonance are presented in chapter 1. chapter 2 explores the relationship between molecular structure and one chemical property, namely, acidity and basicity. Variations in acidity and basicity among organic compounds are correlated using the concepts of electronegativity, the inductive effect, and resonance. These same concepts are used throughout the text in discussions of molecular structure and chemical reactivity. Stereochemistry is a second theme that recurs throughout the text. The concept and importance of the spatial arrangement of atoms is introduced in chapter 3 with the concept of conformations in alkanes and cycloalkane, followed by cis/trans isomerism in chapters 3 (in cycloalkanes) and 4 (in alkenes). Molecular symmetry and asymmetry, enantiomers and absolute configuration, and the significance of asymmetry in the biological world are discussed in chapter 6. The concept of a mechanistic understanding of the reactions of organic substances is a third major theme. Reaction mechanisms are first presented in chapter 5; they not only help to minimize memory work but also provide a satisfaction that comes from an understanding of the molecular logic that governs how and why organic reactions occur as they do. in this chapter we present a set of five fundamental patterns that are foundational to the molecular logic of organic reactions. An understanding and application of these patterns will not only help to minimize memory work but also provide a satisfaction that comes from an understanding of how and why organic reactions occur as they do.

The audience

This book provides an introduction to organic chemistry for students who intend to pursue careers in the sciences and who require a grounding in organic chemistry. For this reason, we make a special effort throughout to show the interrelation between organic chemistry and other areas of science, particularly the biological and health sciences. While studying with this book, we hope that students will see that organic chemistry is a tool for these many disciplines, and that organic compounds, both natural and synthetic, are all around them—in pharmaceuticals, plastics, fibers, agrochemicals, surface coatings, toiletry preparations and cosmetics, food additives, adhesives, and elastomers. Furthermore, we hope that students will recognize that organic chemistry is a dynamic and ever-expanding area of science waiting openly for those who are prepared, both by training and an inquisitive nature, to ask questions and explore.

new to This Edition

●● “Mechanism” boxes have been added for each mechanism in the book. These Mechanism boxes serve as road maps and are a new way of presenting mechanisms using basic steps and recurring themes that are common to most organic reaction mechanisms. This approach allows students to see that reactions have many steps in common, and it makes the reactions easier to understand and remember. By graphically highlighting the mechanisms in the text, we emphasize the importance of mechanisms for learning organic chemsitry, and mechanisms are easier for the students to locate quickly.