Lets Start at the very beginning.

Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter (Nature, n.d). Within chemistry 5 branches have been established, these branches are physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and organic chemistry. Within this blog post the section of organic chemistry will be explored. But what is organic chemistry and where did it originate from? Organic chemistry was first defined as a branch of modern science in the early 1800s by Jon Jacob Berzelius, he classified chemical compounds into two main groups, organic and inorganic compounds. The grouping of these two compounds is dependent on whether the compound originated in living or once living organic matter which in turn would make it an organic compound or if the complex came from a mineral or non-living matter which in turn would make it a inorganic compound.

Organic chemistry was founded in the nineteenth century by two German chemists Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) and Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882). The two German scientists where responsible for the emergence of organic chemistry as a discipline by utilizing quantitative analytical methods to establish the constitution of a newly isolated and synthesized carbon compounds.

Organic chemistry is the building blocks of all life processes and can be used in life around us. When we get in our car or on public transport petrol or diesel fuels the car, when you catch the flu or get a cold prescription drugs and antibiotics are taken, both previously mentioned everyday life situations implements organic chemistry to make it possible. A study performed by chemosphere and published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information showed that the vapor composition of petrol consist of (25– 28%) toluene, (19–20%) benzene, (18–20%) n-heptane, (17– 18%) cyclohexane and methyl cyclohexane (11–12%) all of which are organic compounds (Chin and Batterman, 2012). Aspirin is a commonly used drug in relieving mild to moderate pain and aids in reducing fevers. Aspirin makes use of naturally occurring organic compounds to serve the purpose of being an analgesic. Aspirin is produced by using an organic material known as salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is an organic compound that was discovered in the bark of the willow tree and when combined with the right molecule’s aspirin is formed (Cheng, T.O. (2007).Without the knowledge of organic chemistry, we wouldn’t be able to start the car to get to where we need to go or relieve pain when we are injured.

Within this project we will be looking at a reaction mechanism within organic chemistry to illustrate exactly how a specific organic reaction would take place. A reaction mechanism is a complete step by step account of how a reaction between different organic compounds takes place. The reaction that has been chosen to be analyzed is a halogenation of an alkane, specifically the chlorination of methane. Chlorine is the key component in this reaction and can be found in group 17 of the periodic table, elements in group 17 are referred to as halogens which do not exists as a single element in nature, by can be found as a diatomic molecule.