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!
Diols and Epoxidation Dihydroxylation is the addition of two OH groups to an Alkene: This can be achieved in several ways depending on the structure of the target diol, mainly, whether we need it in a cis or … Read more
In the previous post, we learned that the anti-dihydroxylation of alkenes is achieved by converting them to epoxides, followed by acid or base-catalyzed ring-opening of the epoxide: To convert alkenes into cis-diols by syn dihydroxylation, they are reacted … Read more
Ozonolysis is an efficient way of oxidizing alkenes (and alkynes as well) into their corresponding aldehydes and ketones: One of the advantages of ozonolysis compared to other oxidative cleavage reactions is that it does not over-oxidize the alkene … Read more
In the following practice problems, we will go over efficient strategies for solving IR spectroscopy problems. Yes, IR spectra look overwhelming at first, as there are so many peaks, but knowing where to pay attention makes it a lot easier … Read more
In today’s post, we will discuss the VSEPR theory which helps us understand the geometry of molecules. First, what does VSEPR stand for? It is the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion theory. Notice the highlighted word ‘Repulsion’. It is the … Read more
Introduction to the Hybridization Let’s start by answering this question: Why do we need the hybridization theory? Here is one answer to this. It is confirmed experimentally that the carbon atom in methane (CH4) and other alkanes has a tetrahedral … Read more
Here is a simple view on this important topic. In Lewis structures, we show each covalent bond as two dots, which represent a pair of electrons. For example: So the bonds can be represented either with a line … Read more
Decalin is the common name for fused bicyclic compounds that consist of two six-membered rings. As you may remember from the discussion about bicyclic compounds, fusing two six-membered rings does not give a 12-atom system because there are two common … Read more
Acid-Base definitions In this post, we will go over the key aspects, reactions of Lewis Acids and Bases, and their relation to other chemical reactions. Before doing that, let’s do a quick recap of acid-base definitions in general. The first … Read more
The acid-base reactions are very important in organic chemistry as they lay the foundation of many principles used in other chapters, such as resonance stabilization, substitution, elimination reactions, and many more. One of the key skills in acid-base chemistry is … Read more
