[Octose]

So, as the title says I have just been assigned with a Partner a huge Chemistry project at HS. The project is that we must gather up daily household products, and copy down all of the ingredients. Our goal is to make determine if it is Organic or In-Organic, and for all the Organic compounds must show a Line Diagram + Molecular Formula. THE BAD PART IS: That we need to copy down all compounds, and we need 100 ORGANIC compounds.

I was curious if anyone had tips on determining whether a compound was In-Organic or not, and what are the most common of these used in soaps, etc.

[Jorriss]

Carbon based structure: Organic


Everything else: Inorganic


I wonder, what are you suppose to learn from this exactly?

[skbuncks]

Carbon based structure: Organic


Everything else: Inorganic


I wonder, what are you suppose to learn from this exactly?

Transcription skills?

Anyway, back on topic. A typical shampoo (Pantene Pro V) may contain something like the following:

Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-10, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Ammonium Xylenesulfonate, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7M, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

As a rule of thumb (with some notable exceptions) the ones that are underlined red by a spell checker are organic. I guess you will need google/wiki to identify what they are.

skb

ETA: As a quick practise why not try and identify the inorganics in the above list (it will be quicker that way)

[Borek]

As a rule of thumb (with some notable exceptions) the ones that are underlined red by a spell checker are organic.

[Octose]

Carbon based structure: Organic


Everything else: Inorganic


I wonder, what are you suppose to learn from this exactly?

To be honest I don't even know, I think the summary that comes with the project will be the most important part, as we are determining say Bathroom products how they have alcohols while kitchen stuff doesn't (not saying that's true). But IMO, it is a massive waste of time, I already have 23 Organic Compounds out of 83...

If you guys have any tips on Products that have a bigger Organic to Inorganic ratio that would be greatly appreciated.

[Octose]

How do you tell if a compound is "Non-specific"?

[skbuncks]

...If you guys have any tips on Products that have a bigger Organic to Inorganic ratio that would be greatly appreciated.

The inorganic ones that come to mind are things like bleach, drain cleaner, silver/metal cleaner, talc and paints (depending on whether the colour is derived from pigments or dyes).
For a wide range of organics maybe look at detergents (for cloths, hair, dishes, floor etc), polishes (furniture, shoe etc), varnishes (wood and nail), skin care products (moisturisers etc), air fresheners, and well the list goes on.

How do you tell if a compound is "Non-specific"?

What do you mean by non-specific?

skb

[408]

1) hit the solvent aisle  at the hardware store, acetone, toluene, xylene, MeOH and maybe more, pure too!
2) hit the pharmacy.  glycerin, citric acid, boric acid, acetylsaliclyic acid, ibuprofin, etc