Which bond indicates an organic compound?

• A. carbon-hydrogen bond
• B. ionic bond between carbon and hydrogen
• C. metallic bond between carbon and hydrogen
• D. hydrogen-hydrogen bond

Answer: (A)

Organic compounds are built around carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen and other elements, making carbon–hydrogen bonds the signature feature you see in most of them. The carbon–hydrogen bond provides the way to connect carbon skeletons to hydrogen, enabling the wide variety of structures and reactions that define organic chemistry. Ionic bonds between carbon and hydrogen aren’t typical in organic molecules, because carbon and hydrogen don’t form stable ionic bonds in the way metals or salts do. Metallic bonds between carbon and hydrogen don’t occur in organic compounds either. A hydrogen–hydrogen bond is the bond you’d expect in diatomic hydrogen (H2), not in organic molecules. So the carbon–hydrogen bond best indicates an organic compound.