Organic Chemistry — The Chemistry of Carbon

Organic chemistry is the study of carbon-containing compounds — from simple hydrocarbons like methane to proteins, DNA and modern pharmaceuticals.

Key Topics

• Functional groups — alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, amines.
• Reaction mechanisms — substitution (SN1, SN2), elimination (E1, E2), addition.
• Stereochemistry — chirality, R/S configuration, enantiomers.
• Spectroscopy — NMR, IR, mass spectrometry.

Why It Matters

Every drug, polymer, fuel and biomolecule is an organic compound. Mastery of mechanisms lets you predict new chemistry rather than just memorise it.