LIFESCI 7A Chapter Notes - Chapter 2.4: Ethane, Chemical Formula, Covalent Bond
Document Summary
Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen constitutes 94% of the total dry mass. Organic molecules: composed of carbon atoms in rings or long chains, to which are attached other atoms of such elements as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Carbon has the ability to combine with many other elements to form a wide variety of molecules. One of the special properties of carbon is that it behaves as if it had four unpaired electrons. Occurs because one of the electrons in the outermost spherical orbitals moves into the empty dumbbell-shaped orbital. The single large spherical orbital and three dumbbell-shaped orbitals change shape, becoming four equivalent hybrid orbitals, each with one electron. Carbon atoms can link with each other by covalent bonds to form long chains. Ethane is formed when two carbon atoms become connected by a covalent bond. The orbitals of unpaired electrons in the two carbon atoms form the covalent bond.
