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Drawing Resonance Structures: 3 Common Mistakes To Avoid

January 10, 2012 By James Ashenhurst 11 Comments

No discussion of resonance structures would be complete without mention of how to royally screw them up. This isn't something to feel bad about, by the way: there isn't a chemist alive who hasn't made one of these mistakes at some point. Think of it as a rite of passage. The trick is to make the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organic Chem Study Tips, ResCC, Understanding Electron Flow, Where Electrons Are Tagged With: accounting, curved arrows, electrons, mistakes, resonance

How To Use Curved Arrows To Interchange Resonance Forms

November 30, 2011 By James Ashenhurst 11 Comments

Last time in this series on resonance, we saw that resonance forms represent two (or more) different ways to draw the same molecule, which differ only in their distribution of electrons. What's different in the molecules below? Specifically, what bonds formed and broke? Where did the electrons … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organic Chemistry 1, ResCC, Understanding Electron Flow, Where Electrons Are Tagged With: accounting, curved arrows, electron density, electronegativity, formal charge, negative charges, positive charges, resonance

Learning New Reactions: How Do The Electrons Move?

November 9, 2011 By James Ashenhurst 7 Comments

The most important question when learning a new reaction is recognizing "What Bonds Form, What Bonds Break?" If that's #1, then what's the second most important question to ask yourself? I think it is:  "how do the electrons move?" [I have a friendly disagreement with a lot of instructors … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chemical Bonds, Understanding Electron Flow, Where Electrons Are Tagged With: accounting, arrow pushing, curved arrows, electron densities, electron flow, electronegativity, opposite charges attract

The Most Important Question To Ask When Learning a New Reaction

August 29, 2011 By James Ashenhurst 5 Comments

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 my nose. I was spending so much time focusing on the why and how of chemical reactions, that I had neglected to make sure that students understood the what  - in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chemical Bonds, Drawing Reaction Mechanisms, Organic Chem Study Tips, Organic Chemistry 1 Tagged With: accounting, bonds, reactions, study tips, tips

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