The Most Annoying Exceptions in Org 1 (Part 1)
One of the common complaints you hear a lot from people learning English is that there are just so many exceptions. The plural of “goose”
Read moreHow to apply electronegativity and resonance to understand reactivity
Understanding “Where Are The Electrons” Is Essential To Understanding Why Reactions Happen The Way They Do One thing has been missing from the discussion of
Read morepKa Values Span 60 Orders Of Magnitude
Putting Acidity In Perspective One concept that always seems to have a hard time getting through is that of pKa. No matter how many times
Read moreThe Power of Laziness
What would you do to save 5 seconds? Let’s say it takes 10 minutes to walk from the gym to class. Would it matter much
Read moreOrganic Chemistry Study Tips: Quick Wins
Sometimes I spend time on the SDN forums to see what premeds have to say about their organic chemistry woes. Last night while poking around,
Read moreTable of Functional Group Priorities for Nomenclature
How To Determine Which Functional Group Has “Priority” For Naming Purposes Here’s a little nomenclature dilemma. Let’s say you’re trying to name a molecule. You’re
Read moreThe Six Pillars of Organic Chemistry
A few weeks ago Jeremy at The Chemistry Blog wrote a post called “Common Student Difficulties in Organic Chemistry”. Since I was flying home for
Read moreLewis Structures
There are essentially three uses for Lewis structures. They’re good at helping you get acquainted with the placement of electrons around atoms, helping to visualize
Read moreIonic and Covalent Bonding
Coulomb’s law – the attraction and repulsion between charges – affects the properties of atoms, and is responsible for the phenomenon of chemical bonding. Atoms
Read moreChemical Kinetics
Chemical kinetics is the study of reaction rates. It can be really important in figuring out the mechanisms of chemical reactions. Here are the essentials
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