ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

=What is Organic Chemistry?= Organic chemistry is the study of compounds that are organic in nature, this means they are naturally found. Organic compounds are largely made of carbon and hydrogen atoms (e.g. Fossil fuels or 'hydrocarbons'). However atoms such as O, F, N, S, and P are also common. [image:https://www.southern.edu/chemistry/PublishingImages/Flasks_for_Web_2.jpg] =Why is Organic Chemistry Important?= Many organisms produce compounds that are beneficial to us as humans. Rare sea sponges and plants are commonly found to contain anit-ageing, anti-cancer, or other medicinal substances. Instead of harvesting the world's rarest sea sponge to treat 5 cancer patients, we can study the medicinal compounds and make similar ones in the lab. Organic chemists take simple compounds and react them together in specific ways to create a larger, more complicated compound. Organic chemistry also gives us knowledge to understand how living things work. Everything is made of matter, and matter is atoms! We can use chemistry to understand DNA, how proteins are made, how our cells work. [image:http://i.imgur.com/QwEMQub.jpg]