The 8 Types of Arrows In Organic Chemistry, Explained

To my knowledge there are 8 different types of arrows you meet in organic chemistry. Here’s a little guide to them. 1. The forward arrow,

Calculating the oxidation state of a carbon

Try applying the rules for calculating oxidation states to carbon.

It’s going to feel a little bit weird. Why? Because there are two key differences.

First, carbon is often more electronegative (2.5) than some of the atoms it’s bound to (such as H, 2.2). So what do you do in this case?
Secondly, unlike metal-metal bonds, carbon-carbon bonds are ubiquitous. So how do you deal with them?

Organic Chemistry Is Shit

The Chemical Formula For Poop (Among Other Things) Some days you might feel like you can’t escape organic chemistry. You leave the lecture hall and

Common Mistakes with Carbonyls: Carboxylic Acids… Are Acids!

Carboxylic acids… are acids. I know that seems obvious. But it’s a near certainty that students taking Org 2 for the first time will forget

Oxidation and Reduction in Organic Chemistry

Iron smelting!  Photo credit: http://sclowcountryoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/02/iron-smelting-at-acba.html In the beginning, the term actually made sense. When the alchemists and medieval metallurgists started doing experiments to quantify exactly how

Partial Reduction of Alkynes With Lindlar’s Catalyst

Partial Reduction of Alkynes to cis Alkenes with the Lindlar Catalyst Alkynes are generally more reactive towards catalytic hydrogenation (e.g. Pd-C, H2) than alkenes  While

Condensed Formulas: Deciphering What the Brackets Mean

Recall that there are at least 4 major ways of representing molecules that you’re introduced to in the first week of ochem. The highest level

m-CPBA (meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid)

m-Chloroperoxybenzoic Acid (m-CPBA) For The Epoxidation of Alkenes m-CPBA (meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid) is a useful reagent for the formation of epoxides from alkenes (note – often

OsO4 (Osmium Tetroxide) for Dihydroxylation of Alkenes

Osmium tetroxide, OsO4 Osmium tetroxide (OsO4) is a useful reagent for the dihydroxylation of alkenes The products of these reactions are 1,2-diols (“vicinal” diols), where the two

Palladium on Carbon (Pd/C) for Catalytic Hydrogenation of Alkenes

Catalytic Hydrogenation of Alkenes With Pd/C (And Friends) Alkenes (and alkynes) will undergo addition of hydrogen (H2) in the presence of a metal catalyst such