Finding The Best (And Second-Best) Resonance Structures By Applying Electronegativity The last time I talked about evaluating resonance structures the molecules were, to be honest
Read moreEvaluating Resonance Structures With Negative Charges: Some Key Principles So far in discussing resonance forms we’ve mentioned two important principles that govern which resonance form
Read moreResonance Structures With Positive Charge: Four Key Principles As I mentioned before, the resonance form(s) of lowest energy are those where the charges are minimized.
Read moreHidden Hydrogens, Lone Pairs, and Counter-Ions Time is precious. Drawing the full structures of chemical formulae out takes time. Shaving an extra 10-20 seconds here
Read moreI know I’ve said this before, but a whole lot of organic chemistry can be boiled down to “nucleophile attacks electrophile“. A nucleophile is a
Read moreReduction of Acid Halides To Aldehydes With LiAlH(OtBu)3 or Rosenmund’s Catalyst Acid halides can be reduced to aldehydes through use of the bulky reducing agent
Read morePotassium tert-Butoxide (KOt-Bu) Is A Bulky Base In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday I profile a different reagent that
Read moreI love getting letters from people about their experiences with organic chemistry. I love it even more when they share some of the techniques and
Read moreSodium Periodate, NaIO4 As A Reagent In Organic Chemistry In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday I profile a different
Read moreLove this quote, from Organic Chemistry 1 as a Second Language by David R. Klein (fuller review to come) on organic chemistry and memorization. You
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