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
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Hybrid 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 moreWhat Factors Destabilize Free Radicals?
In the last post we talked about several factors that stabilize free radicals. We saw that since free radicals can be considered electron deficient, any
Read moreFive Key Factors That Influence Acidity
Today we’ll talk about what’s behind the trends in acidity for different molecules and discuss the most important factors that determine these values. I’ve written
Read moreEvaluating Resonance Forms: Factors That Stabilize Negative Charges
So far in discussing resonance forms we’ve mentioned two important principles that govern which resonance form will be most important. 1. Minimize total point charges:
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