Final answer:
Organic compounds were initially named for their association with 'organized' living systems, a legacy of the vital force theory that was disproven by Friedrich Wöhler in 1828. Today's organic chemistry studies carbon-containing compounds, excluding carbonates and oxides, essential in various everyday products and industries.
Step-by-step explanation:
Origin of the Term Organic Compounds
Originally, organic compounds got their name because they were derived from living, or 'organized', systems, such as plants and animals. This designation of organic was based on the belief prevalent back in the 18th and early 19th centuries that these compounds possessed a 'vital force' unique to living organisms.
The viewpoint changed when the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea, an organic compound, from inorganic starting materials in 1828. This was a groundbreaking discovery that contradicted the vital force theory and led to the modern understanding of organic chemistry. Since Wöhler’s discovery, organic chemistry has evolved to include the study of carbon-containing compounds, typically characterized by covalent bonding and excluding carbonates and oxides like CO₂ and Na₂CO₃.
The Role of Organic Compounds Today
Organic compounds are fundamental in daily life, forming essential components of products such as plastics, soaps, perfumes, sweeteners, fabrics, and pharmaceuticals. The discipline of organic chemistry is, therefore, a vital field within chemistry due to the immense variety and complexity of compounds carbon can form, their classification, and their significance in biological and industrial settings.