If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

Main content

Organic chemistry

A brief introduction to organic chemistry

Carbon can form covalent bonds with itself and other elements to create a mind-boggling array of structures. In organic chemistry, we will learn about the reactions chemists use to synthesize crazy carbon based structures, as well as the analytical methods to characterize them. We will also think about how those reactions are occurring on a molecular level with reaction mechanisms. Simply put, organic chemistry is like building with molecular Legos. Let's make some beautiful organic molecules!