Success Stories: How Zach Aced Organic Chemistry 1

With the first semester over, I recently asked my readers if they could share their stories of how they succeeded [or even failed in] organic

Thiols And Thioethers

Thiols and Thioethers: Properties and Key Reactions If you can get beyond their foul smells, thiols have a lot of similar characteristics to alcohols! Like

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?

Regiochemistry In The Diels-Alder Reaction

Regiochemistry (“Regioselectivity”) In The Diels-Alder Reaction The Diels-Alder is an onion, and we just keep peeling back the layers. When non-symmetrical dienes react with non-symmetrical

Orbital Hybridization And Bond Strengths

How Orbital Hybridization Affects Bond Strengths Understanding the concept of hybrid orbitals (see previous post) lets you make accurate predictions about trends in bond strengths.

Introduction to Cycloalkanes (1)

Cycloalkanes: Two Key Consequences of The Fact That Hydrocarbons Can Form Rings In the first few weeks of an organic chemistry class, we’ve learned that:

Success Stories: How Kari Went From C– to B+

In this week’s success story, reader Kari writes in from a large university in Minnesota, saying, “I really underestimated the power of group study until

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

Geometric Isomers In Small Rings: Cis And Trans Cycloalkanes

Geometric Isomers: Cis vs Trans Cycloalkanes In the last post, we mentioned that one of the consequences of the fact that carbon can form rings

Calculation of Ring Strain In Cycloalkanes

Ring Strain In Cycloalkanes (1) – Calculation of Ring Strain This post is all about how ring strain is calculated. If you want more specific