New York University

BIOCHEMIST 406

CHAPTER 10 -- ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

1)Which element accounts for the largest percentage of the earth's crust?

1. 1. carbon
   2. nitrogen
   3. oxygen
   4. silicon

2. Which of the following statements is false?
   1. organic chemistry involves the study of compounds which contain carbon
   2. organic compounds cannot be synthesized in the laboratory
   3. the most common elements found in organic compounds are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen
   4. organic and inorganic compounds obey the same natural laws

3. Approximately how many new organic compounds are reported each year? A. 1000

B. 10,000

C. 100,000

D. 1,000,000

4. Chemicals in which of the following groups are not considered organic chemicals?
   1. enzymes
   2. minerals
   3. proteins
   4. vitamins

5. Which of the following is generally true of most organic compounds?
   1. their bonding is covalent in nature
   2. their aqueous solutions conduct electricity
   3. both (a) and (b)
   4. neither (a) nor (b)

6. Which of the following is generally true of organic compounds?
   1. they are typically high melting solids
   2. most are soluble in water
   3. both (a) and (b)
   4. neither (a) nor (b)

7. Which of the following is true of organic compounds?
   1. most are gases, liquids or low melting solids
   2. they represent only 5% of all known compounds
   3. both (a) and (b)
   4. neither (a) nor (b)

8. Which of the following chemicals, when pure, will have different properties if it is synthesized in the laboratory than if it is obtained from a natural source?
   1. ethanol
   2. taxol
   3. vitamin C
   4. none of these

9. A chemist has two pure samples of an organic compound, one of which she obtained from a natural source, and one of which she synthesized in the lab. Which of the following properties can she use to determine which is the synthetic sample?
   1. boiling point
   2. formula weight
   3. solubility
   4. none of these

10. Which of the following statements about organic compounds is true?
    1. only naturally occurring compounds are considered organic compounds
    2. the number of naturally occurring compounds and the number of synthetic compounds are approximately equal
    3. the number of naturally occurring compounds greatly exceeds the number of synthetic compounds
    4. the number of naturally occurring compounds is much smaller than the number of synthetic compounds

11. Which of the following statements about taxol is false?
    1. about 1 gram can be obtained from a 100 year old tree
    2. it is effective in treating certain ovarian and breast cancers
    3. taxol synthesized in the laboratory is identical to naturally obtained taxol
    4. none, all of the above are true

12. Which of the following statements about taxol is false?
    1. taxol is no longer obtained primarily from the bark of the Pacific yew
    2. taxol and paclitaxel are two different but related anticancer drugs
    3. taxol has been successfully synthesized by chemists
    4. taxol inhibits cell division by preventing the disassembly of microtubules

13. Which of the following geometries is never associated with a carbon atom in an organic compound?
    1. linear
    2. square planar
    3. tetrahedral
    4. trigonal planar

14. If the bond angles at a carbon atom are 109.5?, how many groups are distributed around the carbon atom?
    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3
    4. 4

15. If the bond angles at a carbon atom are 120?, how many groups are distributed around the carbon atom?
    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3
    4. 4

16. If the bond angle at a carbon atom is 180?, how many groups are distributed around the carbon atom?
    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3
    4. 4

17. In organic compounds, which of the following elements normally forms three covalent bonds?
    1. carbon
    2. hydrogen
    3. nitrogen
    4. oxygen