Chapter 4

1. Summarize the philosophies of vitalism and mechanism, and explain how they influenced the development of organic chemistry, as well as mainstream biological thought.
2. Explain how carbon’s electron configuration determines the kinds and number of bonds carbon will form.
3. Describe how carbon skeletons may vary, and explain how this variation contributes to the diversity and complexity of organic molecules.
4. Distinguish among the three types of isomers: structural, geometric and enantiomers.
5. Recognize the major functional groups, and describe the chemical properties of organic molecules in which they occur.