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!
In today’s post, we will mainly focus on conjugated dienes and some of their unique properties. So, first, what are dienes? These are compounds that possess two C=C double bonds. The classification of denes is based on the proximity of … Read more
Alcohols can be oxidized into a variety of carbonyl compounds depending on the nature of the alcohol and the oxidizing agent used. Secondary alcohols can only be oxidized to ketones, while primary alcohols are oxidized to aldehydes and carboxylic acids, … Read more
You have learned and seen in general and organic experimental sections that compounds can be separated using techniques such as filtration, distillation, crystallization, etc. On the basis of all these techniques is the fact that the compounds have different physical … Read more
Why do you think the following Grignard reaction is impossible to carry out without having a protecting group on the alcohol? What is even a protecting group? These are the questions we are going to address in today’s article. … Read more
The main difference of the Grignard reaction compared to everything else you learn in the reactions of alcohols is that it is another way of making a new C-C bond and extending the carbon chain of the molecule. The most … Read more
In this post, we will talk about the Grignard reaction – a fundamental reaction in organic chemistry discovered by Victor Grignard in 1912, which gave him the Nobel Prize. The most common and important Grignard reaction is the one with … Read more
Alcohols can be prepared by reduction of aldehydes, ketones, esters and other carbonyl containing compounds. There are dozens of reagents such as LiAlH4, BaBH4, DIBAL for reducing carbonyls to alcohols. Each of these reagents has advantages and disadvantages. Some are … Read more
Preparation of Alcohols from Alkyl Halides Alcohols can be prepared by substitution reactions using hydroxides and substrates with good leaving groups, such as alkyl halides. Primary substrates react by the SN2 mechanism, while tertiary substrates undergo SN1 reactions when strong … Read more
Naming alcohols follows the same rules we discussed earlier for the IUPAC nomenclature rules for alkanes. This is the brief summary of the steps: Step 1. Identify the parent chain. Step 2. Identify the substituents. Step 3. Number the parent chain, giving … Read more
Importance of radical Halogenation The source of the large majority of organic materials used for a countless number of applications, which can be plastics, drugs, paints, clothes, electronics and many more is the crude oil. We need to … Read more
