Carbon A Versatile Atom

Vitalism is the belief that living things contain a nonphysical force that allows them to synthesize organic compounds. 

An experiment performed in 1828 by a German chemist named Friedrich Wohler (1800-1882) proved vitalism wrong. Wohler heated ammonium cyanate (an inorganic compoimd) and formed urea (an organic compoimd). 

Lewis structures were first covered in Chapter 10. 

Why did life evolve based on the chemistry of carbon Why isn t life based on some other element The answer may not be simple, but we know that life— in order to exist—must have complexity. It is also clear that carbon chemistry is complex. The number of compounds containing carbon is greater than the number of compounds of all the rest of the elements in the periodic table combined. One reason for tiiis complex chemistry is that carbon— wi its four valence electrons—can form four covalent bonds. Recall the Lewis structures of carbon and some carbon compounds. 

As you learn to draw structures for organic compounds, remember that carbon always forms four bonds. 

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