Question

Which was the first organic compound to be prepared in the laboratory?
a.) Methane
b.) Ethyl Alcohol
c.) Acetic Acid
d.) Urea

Answer 1

Hint: This compound is most commonly used as a fertiliser.
With that hint in mind, try and work out what the answer could possibly be.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Let us find out the initial date of preparation of each of the given compounds and then compare to find our answer.
While Methane was discovered for the first time in French marshes in around 1776, it was not generated in a laboratory until much later (circa. Late 19th century.)
Ethanol as a substance has been in use many centuries before the idea of laboratories was even conceptualised, and while scientists have since found several ways to produce ethanol in laboratories, it has never been the widely accepted way of its production.
Acetic acid was synthesised in 1845 for the first time by German chemist Hermann Kolbe from inorganic compounds for the first time.
This reaction sequence consisted of chlorination of carbon disulfide to carbon tetrachloride, followed by pyrolysis to tetrachloroethylene and aqueous chlorination to trichloroacetic acid, and concluded with electrolytic reduction to acetic acid.
In 1828, German chemist Wohler obtained urea artificially by treating silver cyanate with ammonium chloride. This was the first time an organic compound was artificially synthesized from inorganic materials.
Therefore, the answer to this question according to the chronology we have established is d) Urea.

NOTE: There are unfortunately no shortcut methods for us to be able to solve this question and a detailed knowledge of this chronology of events is required for you to be able to answer this question. Therefore, it is recommended that you be well aware of the historical significance of several chemical discoveries and milestones and keep yourself updated of the same.