Do all organic molecules contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Nov 11, 2015

No, but they all contain carbon and hydrogen.

Explanation:

Almost all organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and many contain other elements as well.

For example, ethane is #"CH"_3"CH"_3#. It contains only carbon and hydrogen.

Ethanol is #"CH"_3"CH"_2"OH"#. It contains oxygen as well.

Glycine is #"H"_2"NCH"_2"COOH"#. This one adds nitrogen.

There are many more examples, but all contain carbon and hydrogen.

Related questions
See all questions in Definition of 'Chemistry' and 'Organic'
Impact of this question
19105 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License