how to determine organic/inorganic products of acid/base reaction

Question

abb0t · Answer

In a reaction on paper or in an experiment in a lab?

doc.brown · Answer

I can suddenly imagine a student literally mixing acid and base together on a sheet of paper, and I'm all like, "You're doing it wrong!"

But seriously, to keep it simple "Organic" means "has Carbon".

abb0t · Answer

I meant like identifying at a reaction on a sheet of paper and determining which one is the acid and which is the base. Idk what you're talking about.

doc.brown · Answer

Hydrogen gas is a potential product of an acid base reaction.  Hydrogen gas is an inorganic product.

abb0t · Answer

Organic means both carbon and hydrogen. Inorganic is everything other than carbon or hydrogen.

doc.brown · Answer

Some books claim a carbon-hydrogen bond is necessary for it to be considered an organic molecule, other a carbon-carbon bond, but not hydrogen gas!

Robert T. Morrison, Robert N. Boyd, and Robert K. Boyd, Organic Chemistry, 6th edition (Benjamin Cummings, 1992, ISBN 0-13-643669-2

abb0t · Answer

Hydrogen gas doesn't contain carbon, obviously.

doc.brown · Answer

Exactly, and is inorganic.

doc.brown · Answer

Highfive!