What To Expect In Organic Chemistry 2
Organic Chemistry 2 Is Largely About “Resonance” A large part of organic chemistry 1 is devoted to laying the foundations: introducing structural concepts such as
Read moreAre these molecules conjugated?
If Org 2 has an overall theme, it’s “resonance”. Today’s post has a very simple message. Atoms with lone pairs, π bonds, radicals, and carbocations can
Read moreNucleophilic Acyl Substitution (With Negatively Charged Nucleophiles)
Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution (With Negatively Charged Nucleophiles) Yes, there are a lot of reactions of carboxylic acid derivatives to learn! In this article we’ll explore
Read moreThe Single Swap Rule
I don’t think there are that many “tricks” to doing well in organic chemistry, but there are a few. I was kind of surprised last
Read moreCommon Mistakes with Carbonyls: Carboxylic Acids… Are Acids!
Carboxylic acids… are acids. I know that seems obvious. But it’s a near certainty that students taking Org 2 for the first time will forget
Read moreThe Most Important Question To Ask When Learning a New Reaction
About a month or so ago I had a big revelation as an instructor. Something that I’d been taking for granted, that was right under
Read moreIntroduction to Rearrangement Reactions
The previous four posts on acid-base, substitution, addition, and elimination covered the 4 main reactions in organic chemistry I. Now it’s time to go beyond
Read moreThe Meso Trap
Question: Are these molecules enantiomers, diastereomers, or the same? If you immediately recognized this as a molecule with an internal plane of symmetry (and thus
Read moreCalculating the oxidation state of a carbon
Try applying the rules for calculating oxidation states to carbon.
It’s going to feel a little bit weird. Why? Because there are two key differences.
First, carbon is often more electronegative (2.5) than some of the atoms it’s bound to (such as H, 2.2). So what do you do in this case?
Secondly, unlike metal-metal bonds, carbon-carbon bonds are ubiquitous. So how do you deal with them?
The Ups and Downs of Cyclohexanes
Drawing cyclohexane chair forms can be a tricky business. While it’s often intuitive to pick out which groups are up and down when they’re axial
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