Question

Why was Wohler astonished to find he had made urea?

Short answer

Urea is an organic compound. Wohler created urea without the involvement of living organisms.

Before Wohler’s experiment, it was believed that only living organisms could synthesize “organic” compounds.

Step-by-step solution

Organic compounds

The detailed study of organic compounds and their properties is called “organic chemistry.” The compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are known as organic compounds.

Organic compounds have carbon as the central atom. Hydrogen and various functional groups like the hydroxyl group, carboxylic group, aldehyde, sulfhydryl group, etc., are attached to the central carbon atom, making it a large organic compound.

Urea

Urea is an organic compound made by living organisms during the excretion process.

It is also known as carbamide. It has a chemical formula $\mathrm{CO}{\left({\mathrm{NH}}_2\right)}_2$.The amide has two$-{\mathrm{NH}}_2$ groups attached to a carbonyl$\left(\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{O}\right)$ functional group.It is an important nitrogen-containing compound in the urine of mammals.It helps in the nitrogen metabolism in animals.

It was thus believed that organic compounds could not be prepared in the laboratory. This theory is regarded as thetheory of “vitalism.” It stated that organic substances could only be produced from living things.

Step 3: Wohler’s Experiment

He experimented with making an inorganic salt named “ammonium cyanate” in his laboratory.

He mixed the solutions of ammonium ions$\left({{\mathrm{NH}}_4}^{-}\right)$ and cyanate ions$\left({\mathrm{CNO}}^{-}\right)$ . The product obtained unexpectedly from this reaction was found to be urea. Thus, Wohler was astonished by this experiment. He disapproved of the theory of vitalism.