Structures of molecules can be difficult to piece together at first when you are just starting in an organic chemistry class. Hopefully you retained some of this knowledge from general chemistry. If not, one of the tricks that can greatly help with this is to know the uncharged or “normal” state for atoms that are […]
Know the “normal” state for common organic atoms [3 rules to live by] Read More »
The steps of free radical reactions in 2022 This is one of the best depictions of the steps of free radical reactions I have seen. It shows what can go on in this reactions and how we get from starting material to desired final product. Radical reactions: a quick overview first. A radical reaction is a
Steps of a Free Radical Reactions [simplified – with a great diagram] Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Today’s site of the week is www.chemicalforums.com. I have been a part of this site for a while, and have been pretty impressed with it so far. Once you register, you can post chemistry questions for the experts to answer. The experts are extremely knowledgable, and you get a bunch of responses in a very
Helpful Chemistry Site of the Week. Read More »
Hi Everybody–Resonance is one of those issues that you will have to deal with for both semester I & II organic chemistry. It is much better to have a solid understanding of it now, rather than have to worry about it later. The basic goal of resonance structures is to show that molecules can move
Organic Chemistry Help: Resonance Read More »
Hi everybody, I wanted to talk briefly today about resonance and sterics and how it can affect and SN1 or SN2. For background, I hope everyone knows when it comes to SN1 reactions, tertiary substrates are the fastest and primary substrates are the slowest (because of carbocation stability). Conversely, when it comes to SN2, it
Organic Chemistry Help: Resonance and SN1/SN2 Read More »
