How Concepts Build Up In Org 1 (“The Pyramid”)
I LOVE making maps. Whenever I played adventure games as a kid (or, let’s face it, as an adult) I often made meticulous maps of
Read moreBonding, Structure, and Resonance
Review of Atomic Orbitals for Organic Chemistry
[Note: the following article is intended as a quick review on atomic orbitals for students enrolled in an introductory organic chemistry class who are assumed
Read moreHow Do We Know Methane Is Tetrahedral?
In our review of atomic orbitals, we saw that the orbital configuration of the valence electrons of carbon is 2s22p2 as shown below: Since the
Read moreHybrid Orbitals
Summary of today’s discussion on hybrid orbitals! [Note: This post was co-authored with Matthew Pierce of Organic Chemistry Solutions. Ask Matt about scheduling an online tutoring session here.
Read moreA Hybridization Shortcut
Here’s a shortcut for figuring out the hybridization of an atom in a molecule. This will save you a lot of time. –BEGIN SHORTCUT– Here’s
Read moreHybridization And Bond Strengths
Understanding the concept of hybrid orbitals lets you make accurate predictions about trends in bond strengths. In this post we’ll give several examples of how to
Read moreSigma bonds come in six varieties: Pi bonds come in one
You may recall from Gen chem (and no doubt your first week of o-chem as well), that orbitals on carbon come in two flavors: s
Read moreA Key Skill: How to Calculate Formal Charge
Hey! Welcome to Master Organic Chemistry, just in case you’re a first time visitor. In this blog post I explain how to calculate formal charge for molecules.
Read morePartial Charges Give Clues About Electron Flow
There’s a hidden layer of detail beneath chemical structures that students new to organic chemistry often miss. I’m talking about partial charges. Although each of
Read moreThe Four Intermolecular Forces and How They Affect Boiling Points
Properties like melting and boiling points are a measure of how strong the attractive forces are between individual atoms or molecules. (We call these intermolecular
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