Structure and Bonding

We learn in General Chemistry that the octet rule states that atoms tend to form bonds in such a way that they are surrounded by eight electrons in their outer (valence) shell. It is a great rule, of course, but … Read more

At the beginning of your organic chemistry journey, you’re told a golden rule: carbon likes to have four bonds. This is true almost all the time. Why almost? Because you should never draw a carbon with more than four bonds. … Read more

You are in the very beginning of your organic chemistry class, and your professor has told you that carbon has / likes / prefers four bonds. This, of course, is true – the golden number of carbon is 4.You were … Read more

In the previous post, we talked about the intermolecular interactions and their correlation with the physical properties of compounds. The principles of intermolecular interactions are important in estimating the solubility of a given compound. Let’s first define what we understand … Read more

In the previous post, we talked about the standard valences and formal charges in organic chemistry. Today, we will focus on the number of lone pairs of electrons. While determining this is extensively covered in the Lewis structures and VSEPR … Read more

In the previous post, we talked about the intermolecular interactions, their relative strengths, and correlation to the boiling and melting points of organic compounds. Using the chart with the order of intermolecular interactions, try to solve the following practice problems … Read more

In this post, we will talk about the melting and boiling points of organic compounds and their correlation with intermolecular forces such as dipole-dipole, London dispersion (also known as Van der Waals) interactions, and hydrogen bonding. We discussed these infractions … Read more