Acid-Base Reactions: Introducing Ka and pKa
The Acidity Constant Ka (And Its Negative Logarithm pKa ) Is An Extremely Useful Measure Of Acidity So last time we went through all the
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How to Use a pKa Table
Today we’ll talk about an incredibly important skill that might take some time to grasp but pays tremendous dividends. We’ll go through the exact details of how to use a pKa table. Understanding the proper use of a pKa table will give you the ability to recognize which acid-base reactions will happen and which will not. This will come up a lot as you progress through Org 1 and Org 2. It might be helpful to go back and review some of the factors that affect acidity that were talked about earlier.
Read moreThe pKa Table Is Your Friend
The importance of pKa values in organic chemistry can’t be overestimated, in my opinion. Not knowing pKa values in organic chemistry is like not knowing
Read moreNucleophilicity vs. Basicity
Understanding The Differences Between Nucleophilicity vs Basicity Following up on Nucleophiles and Electrophiles, here’s a common question students have about nucleophilicity: 1. What’s the difference
Read moreEvaluating Resonance Structures With Negative Charges
Evaluating 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 more7 Factors that stabilize negative charge in organic chemistry
Understanding The 7 Key Factors That Stabilize Negative Charge (And Ultimately, Basicity) Like I wrote about in a previous post, it’s good – but not
Read moreLevels of Mastery
Here’s an idea I’ve been playing with: levels of mastery. Growing up with video games, it’s an idea that is intuitively familiar, but not often
Read moreAcid Base Reactions Are Fast
Acid-Base Reactions Are Generally Faster Than Substitution Or Addition Reactions Here is a very common dilemma in organic chemistry as you move through the latter parts
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
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