Common Mistakes: Formal Charges Can Mislead
Sometimes The “Formal Charge” Does Not Accurately Represent The Electron Density Around An Atom! Formal charges have their plusses and minuses. Har har. In many
Read morecurved arrows
The 8 Types of Arrows In Organic Chemistry, Explained
To my knowledge there are 8 different types of arrows you meet in organic chemistry. Here’s a little guide to them. 1. The forward arrow,
Read moreCurved 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 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 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 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
Read moreResonance Structures: Negative Charges Are Best Placed On The Least Basic Atom
Evaluating Resonance Structures With Negative Charges: Some Key Principles So far in discussing resonance forms we’ve mentioned three important principles that govern which resonance form
Read morePi-Donation and Pi-Donors
Resonance In Organic Chemistry: Pi Donation and Pi Donors In this article we discuss pi-donation, which is just another way of saying that atoms with a lone
Read moreOrganic Chemistry GIFS – Resonance Forms
Organic Chemistry GIFS: Some Animated GIFS Of Curved Arrow Notation In Interconverting Resonance Forms GIFS are perfectly suited to showing curved arrow animations in organic
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