The branch of chemistry which deal with carbon and carbon containing compounds is known as organic chemistry.
Beginning
It was about the middle of 1700Bc when the foundation of organic chemistry dated. That time chemistry was evolving from Alchemist art to modern science, a little substances was isolated then from plant and living animals but these are disfferent from that were inorganic isolated from minerals.
Generally in organic compounds it was found that low boiling point and covalently bonded.
That time i t was considered that boilogical substances can not be prepared in laboratory they only present in living organisms by a mistery was by Berzelius known as "vital force theory "
But in 1816 when vitalistic theory received a heavy blow after discovering that soap made up of alkali and animal fat could be isolated in many organic compunds called fatty acides by ''michel chevreul"
Animal fat +NaOH ➡ soap +glycerin
Soap (hydrolysis) ➡ fatty acids
it was about 1828 while working with NH4CNO friedrich wohler prepraed uria by accidental heating.
NH4CNO ➡ NH2CONH2
(ammonium cyanate) ( uria)
Which was previously isolated from human urine, from this vitalistic theory was drooped out..
It is considered as the father of organic chemistry is friedrich wohler by chemists .
And the only distinguishing character of organic from inorganic compounds is all contain carbon.
Today there is about 50 million of known compound and most of them is carbon compounds.
Reasons for abundance of carbon compounds.
1. Valency of carbon is 4.
2. Long catenation property and for this they can form long chain and rings.
3. They can form single, double and triple bond.
4. The nature of bonding is covalent.
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