Partial Charges Give Clues About Electron Flow
There’s a hidden layer of detail beneath chemical structures that students new to organic chemistry often miss. I’m talking about partial charges. Although each of
Read moreelectron density
The 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 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 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 moreMaybe they should call them, “Formal Wins” ?
In April of this year, Braves reliever Luis Avilan came in with a 5-1 lead in the 8th inning. Eight batters later, he’d given up
Read moreResonance Structures Should Have Full Octets (If Possible!)
Resonance Structures With Positive Charge: Four Key Principles The most important resonance form is generally the one where the charges are minimized. However, sometimes you
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
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 moreIn Summary: How To Evaluate Resonance Structures
The Four Key Factors In Evaluating Resonance Structures Not all resonance forms are of equal importance. So how do we evaluate how “important” each resonance
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