How 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 moreA Handy Rule of Thumb for Acid-Base Reactions
Reversible And Irreversible Acid-Base Reactions Last time we learned about pKa and how it’s the closest thing we have to a universal measurement of the
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 moreWhat’s a Transition State?
Here’s a question that comes up a lot: What’s a transition state? A transition state is a very short-lived configuration of atoms at a local
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
Read moreInstructor’s “kludges” of organic chemistry
A kludge, as commonly defined, is a workaround – an inelegant, quick and dirty solution to a problem. When I’m teaching a reaction or a
Read moreSynthesis (5) – Reactions of Alkynes
A Reaction Map For Alkynes (PDF) Today, we’re going to add the reactions of alkynes to our reaction map, which will bring to a close
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