APPENDIX 



SOME ELEMENTARY FACTS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 



THE following elementary facts may help the student who has 

 neglected the study of the outlines of Organic Chemistry. 



Organic compounds are built round the four-handed carbon atom 



C 



I 



When each hand links to the one-handed hydrogen atom, 

 METHANE H 



H C H 



is formed. 



H 



By taking away a hydrogen atom from two Methane mole- 

 cules and linking these molecules together 

 ETHANE H H 



i i 



H C C H is produced. 



H H 



By further linking more and more of these molecules together, 

 similar molecules containing three, four, five or more carbon atoms 

 are produced. 



When each carbon has its due proportion of hydrogen atoms it 

 is saturated, but if two hydrogen atoms are let go, the unoccupied 

 hands of the carbon may join and form an unsaturated molecule, 

 thus : 



Ethane becomes Ethylene H H 



H C=C H 



When one hydrogen atom is taken away and the molecule has a 

 hand ready to link with some other substance a radical is consti- 

 tuted, and these are known as METHYL, ETHYL, &c. 



