The only way of mastering any topic in Organic Chemistry is doing lots of practice problems. And I know, seeing my students, that starting to work on a practice problem may be the hardest part as you don’t know where to start. It is difficult to visualize what where the double bond would be moved if you follow the five curved arrows crammed in one step. Here is the trick:
We are always told to think before doing something. Fair enough. But let me tell you, it is also strangely enough, that in Organic Chemistry, it is often better to draw and then think about what you did (not in the lab though). It is much easier to have a structure in front of you and check for errors and improvements.
Do the first step, take the pencil and you will see that the ball gets rolling.
You have all these Organic Chemistry Practice Problems waiting to be solved!
Angle Strain and Torsional Strain Cycloalkanes are less stable than their open-chain analogs. For example, butane is more stable than cyclobutane, and propane is far more stable than cyclopropane. It may visually be obvious why they are less stable without … Read more
There are a few ways to convert nitriles to esters. Let’s start with the Pinner reaction, which, although not commonly highlighted in textbooks, is a direct and efficient method for this transformation. Pinner Reaction for Converting Nitriles to Esters … Read more
Ketones can be converted to esters through the Baeyer–Villiger oxidation, where a ketone reacts with a peracid (like mCPBA) to insert an oxygen atom next to the carbonyl, forming an ester. Notice that the more substituted alkyl group of … Read more
Depending on whether you need to oxidize a primary alcohol to an aldehyde or a carboxylic acid, you can use either pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) or Jones reagent (a solution of chromium trioxide, CrO3 in aqueous sulfuric acid): Notice … Read more
Carbon is positively charged when, instead of the preferred four bonds, it has three bonds. Remember, from the bonding patterns in organic chemistry, carbon prefers to have four bonds and no lone pairs. These bonds can be any combination of … Read more
Sterics or steric interactions are the obstructions caused by the size of neighboring groups and atoms. In other words, it is simply two or more atoms/molecules/groups getting in each other’s way because of the tight space. So, how does stereics … Read more
You are here because you have almost figured out what polar protic and aprotic solvents are, but want to clearly understand what they have to do with SN1 and SN2 reactions, isn’t that right?To answer and understand this, let’s first … Read more
You have already learned that carbon likes to have four bonds as it fulfils the octet without the “need for thinking” about lone pairs or formal charges. So, that is the very beginning of bonding patterns in organic chemistry – … Read more
Alkenes react at low temperatures with either pure liquid bromine or a bromine solution in an organic solvent such as tetrachloromethane. During the reaction, the double bond breaks, and each carbon atom gains a bromine atom, forming a vicinal dibromide: … Read more
