Draw The Ugly Version First
When figuring out what the product of a reaction is, there are really two important steps. 1. Figuring out where the electrons go. 2. Drawing
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Common Mistakes with Carbonyls: Carboxylic Acids… Are Acids!
Carboxylic acids… are acids. I know that seems obvious. But it’s a near certainty that students taking Org 2 for the first time will forget
Read moreAnother Exercise In Mind Reading
Here’s another great example of how one reagent used in a certain context performs one thing, and in a different context performs a completely different
Read moreNumber Your Carbons!
My one-sentence advice to those about to write an exam: Number your carbons. Now go write your exam. If you need reasons, here they are.
Read moreTake “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 moreSOCl2 Mechanism For Alcohols To Alkyl Halides: SN2 versus SNi
SOCl2 Mechanism With Alcohols, With And Without Pyridine: Nucleophilic Substitution (SN2) Versus Nucleophilic Substitution With Internal Return (SNi) Most of the time, the reaction of
Read moreWhy organic chemistry is hard (2)
Today’s post is about how a simple reaction can lead to all kinds of complications. I’m talking about the Grignard reaction here, although the principles
Read more“Make All The Necessary Mistakes As Quickly As Possible”
The beginning of a new semester is a quiet time. Time to resolve to do things differently. Try and fix problems from last semester to
Read moreWedge And Dash Convention For Tetrahedral Carbon
How To Properly Draw Tetrahedral Carbons – And The Many Ways To Screw It Up There is a knack to drawing proper tetrahedrons. And some
Read moreCommon Mistakes in Organic Chemistry: Pentavalent Carbon
Pentavalent (a.k.a. “Texas”) Carbons So what are some of the most common mistakes we can make in organic chemistry? Given the relatively qualitative nature of
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