Take “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
Read moreA Key Skill: How to Calculate Formal Charge
How To Calculate Formal Charge To calculate the formal charge of an atom, we start by: evaluating the number of valence electrons (VE) the neutral
Read moreThe 4 Major Classes of Reactions in Org 1
At least 80% of the reactions you will learn in Org 1 fall into one of these 4 categories. The sooner you can get into the habit of recognizing bond formation and breakage the better off you will be.
Read moreThe Four Intermolecular Forces and How They Affect Boiling Points
Properties like melting and boiling points are a measure of how strong the attractive forces are between individual atoms or molecules. (We call these intermolecular
Read more3 Trends That Affect Boiling Points
Figuring out the order of boiling points is all about understanding trends. The key thing to consider here is that boiling points reflect the strength
Read moreHow To Use Electronegativity To Determine Electron Density (and why NOT to trust formal charge)
How To Determine Partial Charges Last time we talked about how electrons are the “currency” of chemistry and every reaction is a transaction of electrons
Read moreIntroduction to Resonance
Introduction To Resonance Structures and Resonance Hybrids In this article you will learn to identify resonance structures and resonance hybrids. In molecules containing multiple bonds
Read moreHow To Use Curved Arrows To Interconvert Resonance Structures
Curved Arrows And Resonance Structures Previously in this series on resonance, we saw that resonance forms represent two (or more) different ways to draw the
Read moreEvaluating Resonance Structures – The Fewer Charges, The Better
Evaluating Resonance Forms – The Rule Of Least Charges So far we’ve introduced resonance (See article – Introduction to Resonance) and introduced the curved arrow
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