ergy needed to break it apart.
Because of the unsymmetrical sharing of electrons caused by the electronegativity of some atoms, organic molecules sometimes have polar covalent bonds (17). An example is the bond between carbon and oxygen in which the oxygen atom attracts the bonding electrons more strongly than the carbon atom does. In carbon-metal bonds, it is the carbon which is more negative because the carbon atom attracts the electrons more strongly than metals do.
A substance which can donate a proton (a hydrogen ion, H+) is known as a Bronsted-Lowry acid, and a substance which can accept a proton is known as a Bronsted-Lowry base (20). A Lewis acid is a substance that can accept an electron pair, while a Lewis base is a substance which can donate an unshared electron pair. Most organic molecules which contain oxygen and nitrogen atoms are Lewis bases (24). The acidity constant, K, denotes the strength of an acid . The product that results when an acid loses a proton is called the conjugate base, and the product that results when water gains a proton is called the conjugate acid.
There are over 18 million known organic compounds, each with its own unique physical and chemical properties (34). These can be classified into families according to their structural properties, and within a given family, all members have similar chemical reactivity. There are a few dozen families of compounds whose reactivity is somewhat predictable. The reactions of organic molecules are largely determined by what are known as functional groups (38). A functional group is an atom or a group of atoms with a characteristic reactivity, and it is part of a larger molecule. Functional groups behave the same way in any molecule in which they
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