Text A. What is organic chemistry?

Organic chemistry is a chemistry subdiscipline involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms. Study of structure includes many physical and chemical methods to determine the chemical composition and the chemical constitution of organic compounds and materials. Study of properties includes both physical properties and chemical properties, and uses similar methods as well as methods to evaluate chemical reactivity, with the aim to understand the behavior of the organic matter in its pure form (when possible), but also in solutions, mixtures, and fabricated forms. The study of organic reactions includes probing their scope through use in preparation of target compounds (e.g., natural products, drugs, polymers, etc.) by chemical synthesis, as well as the focused study of the reactivities of individual organic molecules, both in the laboratory and via theoretical study.

The range of chemicals studied in organic chemistry include hydrocarbons, as well as myriad compositions based always on carbon, but also containing other elements, especially oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus (these, included in many organic chemicals in biology) and the radiostable elements of the halogens.

In the modern era, the range extends further into the periodic table, with main group elements, including:

· Group 1 and 2 organometallic compounds, i.e., involving alkali or alkaline earth metals;

· Metalloids (e.g., boron and silicon) or other metals (e.g., aluminium and tin).

In addition, much modern research focuses on organic chemistry involving further organometallics, including the lanthanides, but especially the transition metals; (e.g., zinc, copper, palladium, nickel, cobalt, titanium and chromium).

Finally, organic compounds form the basis of all earthly life and constitute a significant part of human endeavors in chemistry. The bonding patterns open to carbon, with its valence of four - formal single, double, and triple bonds, as well as various structures with delocalized electrons - make the array of organic compounds structurally diverse, and their range of applications enormous. They either form the basis of, or are important constituents of, many commercial products including pharmaceuticals; petrochemicals and products made from them (including lubricants, solvents, etc.); plastics; fuels and explosives; etc. As indicated, the study of organic chemistry overlaps with organometallic chemistry and biochemistry, but also with medicinal chemistry, polymer chemistry, as well as many aspects of materials science.

2. Match the phrases in bold from the text with their definitions. There is one definition you don’t need:

a) any of a material's properties that becomes evident during, or after, a chemical reaction; that is, any quality that can be established only by changing a substance's chemical identity;

b) six chemical elements in column (group) 2 of the Periodic table – they are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra);

c) a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6on the periodic table;

d) the study of chemical compounds containing at least one bond between a carbon atom of an organic compound and a metal, including alkaline, alkaline earth, transition metal, and other cases;

e) a way of expressing information about the proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, using a single line of chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as parentheses, dashes, brackets, commas and plus (+) and minus (−) signs;

f) an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon, and thus are group 14 hydrides;

g) the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms;

h) any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon (except for some types of carbon-containing compounds, such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon and cyanides);

i) a group (column) in the periodic table consisting of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr);

j) a measure of how much a substance tends to react with other things.