This achievement standard involves describing the structure, physical properties, and reactions of organic compounds.

Aspects of organic chemistry includes:

• structures of organic compounds including constitutional isomers and enantiomers
• naming of organic compounds using IUPAC conventions
• physical properties of organic compounds
• reactions of organic compounds.

Organic compounds are limited to those containing one or more of the following functional groups: alkene, haloalkane, amine, alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, ester, carboxylic acid, acyl chloride, amide.

Structures and names of organic compounds are limited to those compounds containing no more than eight carbons.

Physical properties of organic compounds are limited to solubility, melting point, boiling point, rotation of plane-polarised light.

Reactions of organic compounds include acid-base, oxidation, elimination and substitution reactions. Substitution reactions include esterification, hydrolysis, and polymerisation.

• acid-base is limited to reactions of carboxylic acids, amines, and carboxylate and alkylammonium salts
• oxidation is limited to reactions using the following reagents: MnO₄^–/H⁺, Cr₂O₇^2–/H⁺, Tollens’, Fehling’s and Benedict’s
• elimination is limited to reactions using the following reagents: KOH in alcohol and concentrated H₂SO₄
• substitution is limited to reactions using the following reagents: concentrated HCl, HBr, SOCl₂, PCl₃, PCl₅, NaOH, KOH (in alcohol or aqueous solution), NH₃, primary amines, primary alcohols/H⁺, primary alcohols, H₂O/H⁺, H₂O/OH^–
• polymerisation is limited to formation of polyesters and polyamides including proteins.