An organic compound is any member of a large class of
gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon.
For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing
compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (such as CO and
CO2), and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon such as diamond and
graphite, are considered inorganic.
The distinction between "organic" and
"inorganic" carbon compounds, while "useful in organizing the
vast subject of chemistry... is somewhat arbitrary". Organic chemistry is
the science concerned with all aspects of organic compounds. Organic synthesis
is the methodology of their preparation.
