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Organic chemistry is the study of compounds that contain C-C or C-H bonds. You might wonder, “Why devote a whole field of study to just carbon compounds?”

The answer is two fold:

There are more compounds that contain carbon than compounds that don’t. The compounds with carbon can be very large and complex. Organic chemistry is a major part of our lives, from the simple sugars and amino acids to the complex enzymes and huge DNA molecules. Organic chemistry is involved in the development of the food you eat; the clothes you wear; the plastics and polymers that are all around you; the medicines you use; your fuels, pesticides, poisons, soaps and detergents.

The properties of organic compounds differ from those of inorganic compounds. Organic compounds have

low melting points low boiling points soluble organic solvents rather than water poor electrical conductivity. Organic reactions are usually slow and produce low yields of product because of the many side reactions that can occur.

Although, there are millions of known organic compounds, the elements they contain are relatively few. Besides, carbon and hydrogen, there is oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and the halogens.

The variety of organic compounds is due to the many different arrangements, or structures, that are possible. The chemical and physical properties of these compounds are related to the structures of their molecules. Thus, the key to understanding organic chemistry is an understanding molecular structure and chemical bonding.

Carbon

Remember, carbon has four valence electrons and can obtain a stable configuration by forming four covalent bonds. Carbon can form single, double or triple bonds and only a few elements can do this. Also, carbon is unique in that it bonds easily with other carbon atoms, while other elements rarely bond with like atoms. Thus, carbon can form long chains, branched chains, rings and rings with chains for a vast variety of compounds.

Hydrocarbons

Many organic compounds consist of only carbon and hydrogen atoms and are known as hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are subdivided into two groups-aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons. The aliphatic hydrocarbons that are acyclic (chains) or cyclic (rings) and contain only sigma bonds are saturated hydrocarbons. Those that have both sigma and pi bonds are known as unsaturated hydrocarbons. The aromatic hydrocarbons are cyclic hydrocarbons that contain three double bonds.

The aliphatic hydrocarbons consist of chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen attached to the outsides of the chain. Since carbon can form single, double and triple bonds three types of aliphatic hydrocarbons are possible-alkanes, alkenes and alkynes.

Alkanes

Alkanes are hydrocarbons in which there are only single covalent bonds between the carbon atoms. The general formula for alkanes is Cn H2n+2, where n is the number of carbon atoms in the chain. The length of the carbon chain tends to affect the physical properties such as boiling point and melting point due to the variation in strength of the dipersion forces.

Naming alkanes is simple, just choose the prefix that indicates the number of carbons in the chain and add the suffix -ane to the end.

Alkenes

Alkenes are compounds in which there is at least one double covalent bond between the carbon atoms. The general formula for alkenes is Cn H2n, where n is the number of carbon atoms in the chain. To name alkenes, indicate where the double bond is by numbering the carbon chain starting with the end closest to the double bond. Then use a prefix to indicate the number of carbons in the chain and add the suffix -ene to the end. For chains that contain two double bonds, list the location of the double bonds and add the suffix -adiene to the end.

Alkynes

Alkynes are compounds in which there is at least one double covalent bond between the carbon atoms. The general formula for alkenes is CnH2n-2, where n is the number of carbon atoms in the chain. To name alkynes, indicate where the triple bond is by numbering the carbon chain starting with the end closest to the triple bond. Then use a prefix to indicate the number of carbons in the chain and add the suffix -yne to the end.

A medical laboratory is diagnostic. The information the lab finds and reports to the doctor will help the doctor to diagnose and treat the patient’s problem.

Any drainage from your body can be studied in a medical laboratory. Specially trained, educated, and certified lab techs test the drainage to see what kind of bacteria is causing the infection. Once the doctor has this information, proper treatment can be started. Nasal, throat, eye, ear, genital, urine, fecal, wounds, blood, extracted spinal fluid – all these sources can be cultured and grown and studied in the micro department. A fun place to work!

GRAM STAIN. A little bit of the infected sample is rolled in a thin layer onto a small glass slide and sent to the lab. There, it is stained with a special stain called the Gram stain. The lab tech looks at the slide under the microscope, looking for shape and color of any bacteria found. This can sometimes be tricky because elongated cocci can look like rods, and short fat rods can resemble cocci. A pale blue can look almost pink and a dark pink can resemble almost blue. Only an experienced, educated lab tech should read and report Gram stains because of the many artifacts seen on a slide. Once the shape and color of the bacteria has been determined, the bacteria can be classified. Different classes of bacteria respond to different antibiotics.

CULTURE. The lab tech swabs the material onto different types of agar and then places the agar plates into incubators. The plates are checked daily until something starts to grow. This can take 1-3 days, or more depending on the source of the infection. If something does grow, the lab tech is able to identify it. This information helps the doctor determine proper treatment for the patient.

SENSITIVITY. If an abnormal bacteria grows out in the CULTURE, the lab can test the bacteria with little disks that have been saturated with different antibiotics. They place the specimen into the incubator once again and see which antibiotic disk will stop the growth of the bacteria. This can take a couple days again. This will tell the doctor exactly which antibiotic will kill the infection. Sensitivity tests are not done on normal bacteria.

The above tests are done on bacterial infections. A fungus, such as yeast, can be grown in a medical micro lab also. Viruses, however, require special testing and are not grown in a medical micro lab.

Astronomy and Cosmology

Cosmology is the name given to a range of natural sciences, including both physics and astronomy that intends to provide an explanation for how the universe works as an integrated entity. Over the centuries, since the Pythagoreans in Greece during the 6th century BC considered the possibility that Earth was spherical, cosmology has come a long way and has integrated a variety of different fields of science.

Cosmology evolved from the observation of these Greeks who interpreted the natural laws of the heavenly bodies from which, eventually, the Ptolemaic model developed during the second century AD. Centuries later, during the 16th century, the Copernican system further developed the theories surrounding astronomy and cosmology – followed, in the 20th century, by the theories of special relativity and Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Overall, however, the case for cosmology states that the laws of physics work the same everywhere and that there is homogeneity throughout the universe.

‘The Holographic Universe’, written by Michael Talbot, tells its story in two parts: the first part devotes 55 pages to discussing David Bohm’s holographic model of the universe – simplified into everyday language by Talbot. The second part of the book delves into events of the paranormal while, at the same time, attempting to rationalise the holographic model. Talbot introduces the reader to Karl Pribram as well as the philosophies of David Bohm.

Chemistry

Chemistry and biochemistry often go hand-in-hand, existing in parallel with other scientific disciplines such as dietetics [the science of food]. McCance and Widdowson, who produce ‘The Composition of Foods’ summarises food composition tables and updates much in the way of nutrition as a science. The foreword to the 6th edition has been written by Sir John Krebs while the actual volume itself provides an invaluable source of reference to dieticians and nutritionists the world over.

Meanwhile,’Principles of Biochemistry’ by Nelson D has been described as a ‘modern approach to biochemistry’. Personally, one of the best biochemistry books I have ever encountered was that written by Patterson – now, sadly, long since out of print. I attribute my successful pass in the biochemistry exams to the presence of Patterson which, by the time I had finished with it, was particularly dog-eared! Nelson D’s ‘Principles of Biochemistry’ really is the next best thing to Patterson and a worthy successor.

Earth Sciences and Geography

Earth sciences are a catch-all term covering a different range of natural sciences from those mentioned above. These relate to the study of the earth and how different parts of it are interlinked to produce that homogenous whole that is the classic feature of the scientific world. If you are interested in the world around you then you may be interested in a lovely book by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. This book ‘The Cloud Collector’s Handbook’ is full of charming pictures, below which you will find a short description of each cloud and space for you to record your own sightings. It certainly gives a new connotation to having your head in the clouds!

Education

If you think about it, there is all the difference in the world between someone who loves school and somebody who loves to learn: it doesn’t necessarily follow that, if you love to learn, then you must enjoy school. Education, however, is all about learning for the sheer pleasure of gaining new information. This learning may or may not be associated with school: it can even cover any subject. Evidence of this can be seen in Richard Dawkins’ book ‘The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution’.

Dawkins goes about educating his readers, explaining to them how fossils can be dated accurately, all about plate tectonics etc, before going into the details of how these may be linked with the global distribution of plants and animals and the effects changes in these physical elements can have on them. Dawkins, whilst making it clear that he is aware [and who could not be?] of the great debate on creation v evolution, doesn’t get drawn into the minutiae surrounding this eternal dispute.

Engineering and Technology

One book that I simply have to recommend is a fantastic book written by Jo Marchant. You will find it in our Science and Nature section under the heading of Engineering and Technology. The first thing to say is that this is not some dry and boring technical tome. This book relates the story behind a particularly ancient Greek artefact and what it took to decode its hidden mysteries. The book is called ‘Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World’s First Computer’. I wish Jo Marchant had found a more intriguing title for her book because this title really doesn’t do this book justice.

The book relates the story of the Antikythera Mechanism which has been shown to have amazing capabilities as an astronomical calculator: scientists believe its complexity was at least 1500 years before its time. The Antikythera Mechanism artifact is a good 2,000 years old and was found during a dive in 1901. Scientists have been attempting to unravel its secrets ever since. So, if it’s a true-life mystery you are interested, or a book that’s a bit different I would strongly recommend this well-written and interesting book of Jo Marchant’s.

There are innumerable other sub-genres to be found within our Science and Nature section, covering quite an array of subjects. If you are a fan of the border collie, Barbara Sykes writes a delightful treatise on ‘Understanding Border Collies’. This is an excellent book written by somebody who really does understand the intricacies that go to make up this breed of dog and is an absolute ‘must have’ for all the lovers of border collies out there. Changing from dogs to elephants, I would certainly recommend ‘The Elephant Whisperer: Learning about Life, Loyalty and Freedom from a Remarkable Herd of Elephants’ – it will really pull on your heartstrings then have you howling with laughter! Check out all the other options within this section – you will probably amaze yourself at the treasure trove of titles hidden within our web pages!