“Compare Organic Chemistry To A Movie…”
Love this quote, from Organic Chemistry 1 as a Second Language by David R. Klein (fuller review to come) on organic chemistry and memorization. You
Read moreReagent Friday: Sodium (Na)
Sodium Metal (Na) 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 moreReagent Friday: Raney Nickel
Raney Nickel And The Desulfurization Of Thioacetals + Hydrogenation Of Alkenes (and Alkynes) In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday
Read moreBlog Carnival: What the Cope Rearrangement Taught Me About Chemistry
Note: to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry 2011, there’s a blog carnival going on. This is my contribution. If you can’t follow the structural
Read moreHow to Get An A In Organic Chemistry
When I ask my students what their goal for the course is, the most common answer is this: “To get an A”. I don’t know
Read more“Reagents”: A Pocket Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Chemistry
Reagents is a new app for iPhone and iPad that gives you all the key information about the most commonly encountered reagents in undergraduate organic chemistry
Read moreReagent Friday: PCC (Pyridinium Chlorochromate)
Pyridinium Chlorochromate (PCC), A Useful Oxidant For Alcohols In Organic Chemistry In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide, each Friday I profile a different reagent
Read moreHammond’s Postulate
Last week Diana left this comment: I recently had my first orgo exam and one of the concepts that I have trouble visceralizing is Hammond’s
Read moreDi-isobutyl Aluminum Hydride (DIBAL) For The Partial Reduction of Esters and Nitriles
DIBAL (Di-isobutyl Aluminum Hydride) – A Bulky Reducing Agent For The Partial Reduction Of Esters and Nitriles DIBAL (also known as DIBAL-H or DIBAH) is
Read moreHow (and why) electrons flow
So what is the key “driving force” involved in chemistry? A chemist would say that “opposite charges attract, like charges repel.” But how can we
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