Emil Fischer is considered by many to be the greatest organic chemist to ever live. His problem was that he created a way of looking at organic molecules that is very confusing to undergraduates. These structures are necessary to learn and are very helpful when looking at certain molecules (such as carbohydrates), but they are […]
Fischer Projections are a Black Tie Affair Read More »
How to study for organic chemistry? How to study for organic chemistry? I get asked this question pretty frequently…and while there is no easy answer (because every student is different), here is the four-pronged solution that we have come up with here. This answer is based on a survey of organic chemistry professors that
How to study for organic chemistry? Read More »
What is a constitutional isomer? HINT: It is the same thing as a structural isomer and configurational isomer. Are you wondering if you have a constitutional isomer? There are two questions you need to ask yourself before we can answer this question. The first question: do the compounds have the same molecular formula? If they
What is a constitutional isomer? [with a nice chart] Read More »
Q: What is a meso compound? Q: Why should we care about them in our organic chemistry class? We care because this is an easy place for a professor to try to trip you up. What is a meso compound? Meso compounds are molecules that have multiple stereocenters but are superimposable on their mirror images. Meso compounds
What is a Meso Compound: Surprisingly Not Chiral [with examples] Read More »
Organic Chemistry Klein Today, we take a look at the organic chemistry Klein textbook, one of the most popular organic chemistry textbooks on the market right now. Written by David Klein, the book is now widely used in many undergraduate organic chemistry courses and is the number one textbook for organic chemistry on Amazon
Organic Chemistry Klein Textbook Review [Bonus Free Study Guide] Read More »
Keto Enol Tautomerism Keto Enol Tautomerism is a process where an equilibrium occurs between the keto form (ie a normal-looking ketone) and the enol form (a double bond adjacent to an alcohol) of a carbonyl, acheived through the movement of atoms and breaking of single bonds. Spoiler alert: In most cases, the keto form is
Keto Enol Tautomerism [with free study guide] Read More »
Learning organic chemistry is like trying to work in a foreign country; if you don’t know the language, it is going to be very difficult to learn how to do your job. Imagine that you have just been transported to the mythical country of “ochemia”, a small island nation in the south Pacific, where your
Memorize your nomenclature and essential vocabulary Read More »
Carbocation stability Before we start talking about carbocation stability, we should have a starting discussion about some carbocation basics. What is a carbocation? A carbocation, also sometimes referred to as the carbonium ion, is an sp2 hybridized carbon atom with three groups bonded to it and a empty orbital. Because it has an empty orbital,
Carbocation Stability [with free study guide] Read More »
It’s time for resonance in organic chemistry. Resonance in organic chemistry is one of the most fundamental and useful concepts you will learn in this class. Once most students hear this tip, it makes perfect sense to them, but it isn’t one that you might think of on your own. Take a look at
Resonance between equivalent atoms in organic chemistry means equal bond lengths. Read More »
Amazingly enough, IR is not used much by professional organic chemists. This is because all IR can show is different functional groups. Thus, IR cannot tell the difference between any of the molecules shown below: All of the molecules above will show an OH peak and various C-H stretches, but each spectra will look striking similar.
Organic Chemistry: There are only FOUR important IR peaks….that’s IT Read More »
