The only way of mastering any topic in Organic Chemistry is doing lots of practice problems. And I know, seeing my students, that starting to work on a practice problem may be the hardest part as you don’t know where to start. It is difficult to visualize what where the double bond would be moved if you follow the five curved arrows crammed in one step. Here is the trick:
We are always told to think before doing something. Fair enough. But let me tell you, it is also strangely enough, that in Organic Chemistry, it is often better to draw and then think about what you did (not in the lab though). It is much easier to have a structure in front of you and check for errors and improvements.
Do the first step, take the pencil and you will see that the ball gets rolling.
You have all these Organic Chemistry Practice Problems waiting to be solved!
α-Cleavage is a common fragmentation in mass spectrometry that occurs in molecules containing a heteroatom, such as oxygen or nitrogen. In this process, the bond between the α-carbon (the carbon directly attached to the heteroatom) and the β-carbon breaks, producing … Read more
The McLafferty rearrangement is one of the most important named fragmentations you’ll come across in mass spectrometry. It is a rearrangement fragmentation that occurs in compounds containing a carbonyl group (C=O) and a hydrogen atom located three carbons away (γ-hydrogen). … Read more
This content is for registered users only. Click here to Register! By joining Chemistry Steps, you will gain instant access to the answers and solutions for all the Practice Problems, including over 40 hours of problem-solving videos, Multiple-Choice Quizzes, Puzzles, Reaction … Read more
This tutorial on solving mass spectrometry problems is designed to make the process easy by guiding you in the right direction as soon as you start analyzing mass spectra. It is your ultimate step-by-step guide to solving Mass Spec problems … Read more
How to Separate a Mixture of Phenol, Anisole, and Benzoic Acid Using Acid-Base Extraction When separating a mixture of organic compounds, we can take advantage of two key properties: Solubility: Whether a compound dissolves in a nonpolar organic solvent like … Read more
So, you talked about IR spectroscopy in class, and now it’s time to summarize what you’ve learned and start solving some practical problems. The first step in doing that is to know the key absorption signals in IR spectroscopy. This … Read more
The main Organic Chemistry 1 chapters in most US curricula go up to the reactions of alcohols. So, this summary will include synthesis practice problems on Alkenes, Alkynes, and Alcohols. If you need to practice SN1, SN2, E1, and E2 … Read more
How to interpret IR spectra with the whole bunch of peaks that jump out at you right away? Well, that is the purpose of this post: how to interpret and solve IR spectroscopy problems, keeping things simple. In a … Read more
In the previous few posts, we discussed Newman projections, their use in illustrating and understanding the conformational analysis of open-chain and cyclic structures, such as chair conformations. This post is a summary of practice problems on Newman projections. … Read more
In the previous post, we talked about the ortho-, meta-, and para-directors in electrophilic aromatic substitution (EAS). Substituents on a benzene ring influence both the reactivity of the ring and the position where new groups enter. Activating groups (such as … Read more
