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 the previous post, we talked about the resonance structures and the main rules applied to them. In summary, there are two must-follow rules when drawing resonance structures: 1) Do not exceed the octet on 2nd-row elements. 2) Do not break single … Read more
If a molecule has more than one Lewis structure, it can be represented by the corresponding resonance forms. They are separated by a double-headed arrow (two arrows are used for equilibrium): Remember, resonance structures have the same placement … Read more
What are Resonance Structures When switching from general to organic chemistry, showing molecules as structures rather than simple formulas becomes one of the first things and priorities you need to learn. Lewis structures are essential for this as they show … Read more
Question: Why do we use curved arrows? Answer: We use them to keep track of electrons. Curved arrows are crucial in organic chemistry, and using them correctly is essential for mastering the subject. In fact, it is like the operating system of … Read more
Organic Molecules One of the fundamental differences between Organic Chemistry and General Chemistry is the need for a much better visualisation and understanding of the molecular structures. This is because organic molecules are generally larger than inorganic ones, such as … Read more
A functional group is a specific atom or group of atoms within a molecule that largely determines its chemical reactivity, physical properties, and behavior in reactions. These groups are the key to understanding how and why organic molecules interact the … Read more
Check Also Converting between Bond-line, Lewis and Condensed structures Curved Arrows Resonance Structures in Organic Chemistry Assessing the Relative Importance of Resonance Structures Drawing Complex Patterns in Resonance Structures Localized and Delocalized Lone Pairs
In this post, we will talk about the E2 and E1 elimination reactions of substituted cyclohexanes. Let’s start with the E2 mechanism. When the following substituted cyclohexane is treated with sodium ethoxide, an E2 elimination is expected to occur, as … Read more
In the previous post, we discussed racemic mixtures which consist of equal amounts of two enantiomers. Racemic mixtures are not chiral as they are not optically active. For example, 2-bromobutane exists in two stereoisomers, more specifically two enantiomers, R and S enantiomers. … Read more
