The Main difference between organic and inorganic compounds Is the presence of a carbon atom.
The organic compounds contain a carbon atom and usually also have a hydrogen atom to form hydrocarbons. On the other hand, almost none of the inorganic compounds contain carbon and / or hydrogen atoms.
Principal differences between organic and inorganic compounds
Although the vast majority of inorganic compounds do not contain coal, there are some exceptions. For example, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide contain carbon atoms.
However, the amount is not enough to form strong bonds with the oxygen present in the molecule. Because of this, scientists have always regarded these compounds as inorganic. Therefore, even if a compound contains coal, it is not necessarily considered organic.
Another great difference between the two compounds is the type of molecule and its association with living things. Organic compounds include things like nucleic acids found in DNA, lipids, sugars, lipid acids found in cells of living organisms, proteins and enzymes that are necessary for cellular processes to be made. Hydrocarbon fuels are also considered organic.
On the other hand, inorganic compounds include elements such as salts, metals and other essential components. Substances made of solitary elements, and any compound that does not have carbon atoms bound with hydrogen atoms, are also considered inorganic.
Despite these characteristics, organic chemists have not reached a definitive agreement between the difference between organic and inorganic compounds. Being a debate still standing, they refer to the presence of coal in the molecule as the most accepted identification method.
Organic compounds
In these compounds, one or more carbon atoms are attached to atoms of other elements. The most common elements to which they are attached are usually hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. The few compounds that contain coal and are not considered organic are cyanides, carbonates and carbides.
Traditionally organic compounds are considered of great importance, since all known life is based on organic compounds. The most basic petrochemicals are considered as the basis of organic chemistry.
The modern definition of an organic compound is any compound containing a significant amount of carbon, although many of the organic compounds known today have no connection with any substance found in living organisms.
There are several compounds considered organic although they do not have hydrogen and carbon bonds. These include benzene-exol, mesoxalic acid and carbon tetrachloride.
Organic compounds can be classified into natural compounds and synthetic compounds.
Natural compounds
They refer to those compounds produced by plants and animals. Many of these compounds are extracted from natural sources because it would be very costly to manufacture them artificially.
The most common are sugars, some alkaloids and nutrients such as vitamin B12. Generally, they are all compounds that have large or complicated molecules and that can be found in reasonable quantities in living organisms.
Synthetic compounds
The compounds which are prepared by the reaction of other compounds are considered Synthetic . They can be compounds found in nature or compounds that do not occur naturally.
Most polymers, such as plastics and gums, are semi-synthetic organic compounds.
Biotechnology
Many organic compounds, such as ethanol and insulin, are manufactured industrially using organisms derived from bacteria and yeasts. Typically the DNA of an organism is altered to express compounds that are not normally produced in the organism.
Many compounds made by biotechnology did not exist previously in nature.
Inorganic compounds
A compound can be considered as inorganic if it does not contain a bond between carbon and hydrogen, called the C-H loop in chemistry, in its composition. Additionally, the inorganic compounds tend to be minerals or geologically based compounds that do not contain carbon bound to hydrogen molecules. This is why many of the inorganic compounds are metals.
It can be said that a compound is considered inorganic if it fulfills one of these criteria:
- There is no presence of coal in its composition.
- It is of non-biological origin.
- It can not be found or incorporated into a living organism.
At present, inorganic compounds can also be defined as any compound which is not of an organic nature.
It is for this reason that some simple compounds containing carbon are referred to as inorganic. Some of these compounds include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium bicarbonate , Carbides, carbonates and cyanides.
Many of these compounds are normal parts of many mostly organic systems, including organisms. This means that a chemical can be described as inorganic, but this does not mean that it has no presence in living organisms.
The minerals are mainly oxides and sulfates, which are strictly inorganic although they are of biological origin. In fact, most of the planet Earth is inorganic.
Although the components of the Earth's layers are well elucidated, the mineralization process and the composition of the deep layer remain as active areas in the research.
The truth is that most of the compounds of the universe are inorganic in nature. For this reason, inorganic compounds have a great application and many practical uses in everyday life. Since many of the compounds in the world are inorganic, these compounds may have many different forms and may have very different characteristics.
For example, since many are metals, they can transmit electricity. They also often have high boiling points, as well as very vivid and bright colors. They typically dissolve very well in water and many of them have the ability to form crystals.
References
- Organic Versus Inorganic Compounds. Soft Schools. Recovered from softschools.com.
- What is the difference between organic and inorganic? (2016) Science. Retrieved from thoughtco.com.
- Organic Compound. Chemical Compounds. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from britannica.com.
- American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. (2016). Retrieved from afpm.org.
- Geomicrobiology: How molecular science interactions underpin biochemical systems. (2002). Science-296. Retrieved from sciencemag.org.
- What are inorganic compounds? Definition, characteristics and examples. Lesson 20, Chapter 4. Retrieved from study.com.