Inorganic compounds

An inorganic compound is a chemical compound that is not an organic compound. There is no clear or universally agreed-upon distinction between organic and inorganic compounds, but common definitions focus on the presence or absence of carbon (or certain kinds of carbon bonds) or the source from which the compound is derived. Inorganic compounds are traditionally viewed as being synthesized by the agency of geological systems. In contrast, organic compounds are found in biological systems. Organic chemists traditionally refer to any molecule containing carbon as an organic compound and by default this means that inorganic chemistry deals with molecules lacking carbon. As many minerals are of biological origin, biologists may distinguish organic from inorganic compounds in a different way that does not hinge on the presence of a carbon atom. Pools of organic matter, for example, that have been metabolically incorporated into living tissues persist in decomposing tissues, but as molecules become oxidized into the open environment, such as atmospheric CO₂, this creates a separate pool of inorganic compounds. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, an agency widely recognized for defining chemical terms, does not offer definitions of inorganic or organic compounds. Hence, the definition for an inorganic versus an organic compound in a multidisciplinary context spans the division between organic life living (or animate) and inorganic non-living (or inanimate) matter.

The Wöhler synthesis is the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea. This chemical reaction was discovered in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler and is considered the starting point of modern organic chemistry.

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