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What element do all organic molecules contain and its uses

ECHEMI 2022-07-15

What element do all organic molecules contain is a question that many people have in mind. The answer is carbon. Carbon is an abundant element on Earth and can be found as a pure element in nature, but mostly it comes from carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon is the 4th most abundant element on Earth and the 3rd most common substance found on Earth. The word organic refers to living organisms and whatever they produce, including their bodies, their refuse such as droppings, hair, skin scraps from predators or prey, etc. Organics are also used to refer to man-made chemicals that have been derived from living organisms or other organic materials such as coal tar or plants like petroleum or wood pulp (cellulose).

Physical feature of organic molecules

1. They are all made from carbon from carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen(O).

This means that all organic molecules are made from 3 elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. This answers the question what element do all organic molecules contain?

2. Their molecular structure is mostly nonpolar.

Polar molecules have different electronegativities ("like charges repel, unlike charges attract"). This means that most of the atoms of their molecules do not have the same charge and their electrons tend to be in different sections of the molecule. This makes them very attracted to other polar materials and they are held together more strongly. Most organic compounds are nonpolar molecules with none of their atoms with different electronegativities (C-H and C-O bonds are both equally polarized).

3. They are also composed of atoms with non-covalent bonds.

Covalent bond: is an attractive force between two non-metals that can be easily broken and the atoms never separate but stay together because they have a shared electron (two parts). There can be many thousands of covalent bonds between the same atoms in an organic molecule. Non-covalent bonds: these are also attractive forces between atoms but they occur when the bonding electrons are not shared between the atoms. This can be compared to a "hand shake", where it is easy to withdraw if you don't have a good grip.

4. They have different physical states such as solid, liquid and gas because of their molecular bonds.

Physical state: state of matter describing the physical properties of a substance such as temperature, pressure and volume. Solid: generally hard, with definite shape and volume that does not change easily on heating or cooling down. Liquid: can flow like a gas at room temperature like water (H2O). They can also exist as solids or gases. Gas: state of matter in which it is neither a solid nor a liquid, but simply a gas like H2O.

Uses of organic molecules

1. They are used for different purposes such as biochemicals in food, plastics and polymers (plastics), rubber, antifreeze, detergents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and fertilizers.

1.Plastics:

Organic molecules are used to make plastics and polymers. The basic molecule for making polymer is called monomer. A monomer is made into a polymer by connecting monomers in long chains. In this case the chain is called polymer because it is made of many copies of small molecular groups. Biochemicals: organic compounds are very important in life processes such as breathing and photosynthesis.

2.Rubber:

Organic molecules are made of two parts just like plastics. Rubber is made of long chains of carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms glued together. This means that the molecule isn't charged. As a group they are polar but not individually. These molecules are called polymers (plastic is also a polymer). The strength of the rubber comes from the fact that carbon and hydrogen atoms have relatively weak bonds to each other and so easily break and reform with others nearby. This makes it very good for materials because it is flexible, strong, elastic and has low friction. This makes it the most used material in the world.

3.Antifreeze:

Organic molecules are used to make antifreeze which is used to stop a car engine from freezing over after an unexpected night in the winter months. Antifreeze consists of long chains of hydrogen and oxygen called polymers made using carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. These polymers have a certain temperature range where they remain solid at temperatures below this range but become a gas at higher temperatures. In boiling point theory, you can use this temperature range for judging whether something is liquid or gas.

In conclusion, what element do all organic molecules contain is carbon. Carbon is an abundant element on Earth and can be found as a pure element in nature, but mostly it comes from carbon dioxide in the air. Organic molecules are composed of 3 elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Disclaimer: ECHEMI reserves the right of final explanation and revision for all the information.

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