Organic chemistry is a branch of chemistry dealing with carbon compounds. In all branches of chemistry, atoms are formed from a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons which are located in orbitals around the nucleus (3). Different orbitals have different shapes, and different energy levels. The lowest energy arrangement of an atom is called its ground-state electron configuration, and can be predicted because the lowest energy levels are filled first; there can be only two electrons per level; and if two or more empty orbitals of equal energy exist, one electron occupies each until all orbitals are half full (5). S orbitals are spherical and p orbitals are shaped like a dumbbell.
There are two basic types of chemical bonds: ionic bonds, usually found in inorganic salts, and resulting from the unlike charges of the atoms in the molecules; and covalent bonds found in organic molecules, which involve the sharing of one or more pairs of electrons between atoms (7). Energy flows out of a chemical system when a bond is formed. Atoms bond together because the compound they form is more stable than the separate atoms. Electron sharing occurs when the orbitals of two atoms overlap. Head-on covalent bonds are called ? bonds, and covalent bonds formed by sideways overlap of p orbitals are called ? bonds.
When organic compounds form single bonds, the carbon atom has four equivalent sp3 hybrid orbitals and has a tetrahedral geometry. When the carbon atom forms double bonds, the carbon atom has three equivalent sp2 hybrid orbitals and planar geometry, with one unhybridized p orbital. When carbon atoms form triple bonds, the carbon atom has two equivalent sp orbitals and the geometry of the molecule is linear, with two unhybridized p orbitals. There is an optimum distance between nuclei that gives maximum bond stability and this is called the bond length (10). The bond strength is the amount of en...