Nucleophilicity vs. Basicity
Understanding The Differences Between Nucleophilicity vs Basicity Following up on Nucleophiles and Electrophiles, here’s a common question students have about nucleophilicity: 1. What’s the difference
Read moreNumber Your Carbons!
My one-sentence advice to those about to write an exam: Number your carbons. Now go write your exam. If you need reasons, here they are.
Read moreWhat Makes A Good Nucleophile?
Factors That Determine Whether A Species Is A Good Nucleophile If you read the last post, you’ll recall that a nucleophile is a species that
Read moreWhat Makes A Good Leaving Group?
Good Leaving Groups Are Weak Bases A leaving group (a.k.a. “nucleofuge”) is the new Lewis base that is generated in various substitution and elimination reactions when
Read more3 Factors That Stabilize Carbocations
Carbocations: Properties, Formation, and Stability Carbocations are electron-deficient species with an empty p-orbital Lacking a full octet and bearing a positive charge, they tend to
Read moreOrganic Chemistry Study Tips: How to use a “Study Buddy”
I can’t claim credit for this idea but unfortunately I can’t remember where I read it either. Here’s a helpful and quick way to make
Read moreEquilibrium and Energy Relationships
One kcal/mol is actually a lot This article discusses the relationship between the equilibrium constant K and the difference in energy ΔG, and explores some
Read moreThe Cope and Claisen Rearrangements
Cousins Of The Diels-Alder: The Cope Rearrangement and The Claisen Rearrangement The Cope Rearrangement and Claisen Rearrangement are pericyclic reactions in the same family as
Read moreTake “Don’t Memorize!” with a grain of salt
Loyal reader Sandy writes in with a comment about memorization: I wish I had understood much earlier that there is a place for memorization in
Read moreDipole Moments and Dipoles
Dipole Moments After reading this article and doing the quizzes at the bottom, you should be able to Apply electronegativity to identify covalent and polar
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