Organic compound

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Organic compounds are a subclass of chemical compounds of carbon. Little consensus exists among chemists on the exact definition of organic compound; the only universally accepted definition is the quasi-tautological "organic compounds are the subject matter of organic chemistry". Generally, any large chemical compound containing a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond is accepted as an organic compound. Thus alkanes (e.g. ethane, CH3−CH3) and their derivatives are typically considered organic. For historical and disciplinary reasons, small molecules containing carbon are generally not accepted: cyanide ion (CN−), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), chloroformic acid (ClCO2H), carbon dioxide (CO2), and carbonate ion (CO2−3) may all be excluded. Because of carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Although organic compounds make up only a small percentage of Earth's crust, they are of central importance because all known life is based...

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