Sham,+Aakash1

=CAFFEINE-C 8 H 10 N 4 O 2 =



The caffeine molecule consists of 8 carbons, 10 hydrogens, 4 nitrogen, and 2 oxygen atoms.



**Caffeine** is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819. He coined the term //kaffein//, a chemical compound in coffee (the German word for which is Kaffee), which in English became //caffeine.

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyze and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in various items extracted from the cherries of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut. Other sources include yerba mate, guarana berries, and the Yaupon Holly.

// In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks, enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but, unlike many other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. The U.S. FDA lists caffeine as a "multiple purpose generally recognized as safe food substance". Caffeine has diuretic properties when administered in sufficient doses to subjects that do not have a tolerance for it. Regular users, however, develop a strong tolerance to this effect, and studies have generally failed to support the common notion that ordinary consumption of caffeinated beverages contributes significantly to dehydration.



In 1819, the German chemist Friedrich Ferdiand Runge isolated relatively pure caffeine for the first time. According to Runge, he did this at the behest of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe In 1827, Oudry isolated "theine" from tea, but it was later proved by Mulder and Jobat that theine was the same as caffeine. The structure of caffeine was elucidated near the end of the 19th century by Hermann Emil Fischer, who was also the first to achieve its total synthesis. This was part of the work for which Fischer was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1902. The nitrogen atoms are all essentially planar (in sp2 orbital hybridization), resulting in the caffeine molecule's having aromatic character. Being readily available as a byproduct of decaffeination, caffeine is not usually synthesized. If desired, it may be synthesized from dimethylurea and malonic acid.

Properties:

Molar Mass: 194.19g/mol Appearance: Odorless, white powder Density:1.23 g/cm3 Melting Point: 227-228 degrees C Boiling Point: 178 degrees C Solubility: 2.17g/100 ml water @ 25 degrees C

Sources:

Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Aakash, you went above and beyond on this assignment. Not only did you fulfill all of the requirements, but you added additional information such as the history of caffeine. I was also very interested when I learned that caffeine functions as a natural pesticide in nature. I didn't realize how ignorant I was of a substance that is consumed so frequently. Also, you had great pictures, but some of them were a bit redundant (showing the same molecular formula over and over again). -Kevin