The Most Important Question To Ask When Learning a New Reaction
What Bonds Form, What Bonds Break? About a month or so ago I had a big revelation as an instructor. Something that I’d been taking
Read moreA Primer On Organic Reactions
Curved Arrows (for reactions)
Curved Arrows: The Accounting System For Electron Movement If you think of electrons as the currency of chemistry, reactions are transactions of electrons between atoms.
Read moreNucleophiles and Electrophiles
Nucleophiles and Electrophiles, Nucleophilicity and Electrophilicity All through the series on understanding where electrons are, and how they flow, we’ve been talking about how the
Read moreThe Three Classes of Nucleophiles
I know I’ve said this before, but a whole lot of organic chemistry can be boiled down to “nucleophile attacks electrophile“. A nucleophile is a
Read moreNucleophilicity 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 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 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 more7 Factors that stabilize negative charge in organic chemistry
Understanding The 7 Key Factors That Stabilize Negative Charge (And Ultimately, Basicity) Like I wrote about in a previous post, it’s good – but not
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