Organic Chemistry

Optical Activity in Organic Compounds

– Rotation of the plane of polarized light is called optical activity, and substances that rotate the plane of polarized light are said to be optically active. – There are alot of Organic Compounds have optical activity Introduction to Optical activity Mirror-image molecules have nearly identical physical properties. Compare the …

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(R) and (S) of Asymmetric Carbon Atoms

(R) and (S) Nomenclature of Asymmetric Carbon Atoms – Alanine is one of the amino acids found in common proteins. – Alanine has an asymmetric carbon atom, and it exists in two enantiomeric forms. – These mirror images are different, and this difference is reflected in their biochemistry. – Only …

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Chirality in Organic Chemistry

What is Chirality? – What is the difference between your left hand and your right hand? They look similar, yet a left-handed glove does not fit the right hand. – The same principle applies to your feet. They look almost identical, yet the left shoe fits painfully on the right …

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Acidity: Carboxylic Acids versus alcohols

    ❒ Carboxylic acids are weak acids, typically having pKa values in the range of 3–5. Alcohols, by comparison, have pKa values in the range of 15–18, and essentially do not give up a proton unless exposed to a very strong base. ❒ To understand the reasons for this difference, let’s consider acetic acid …

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Concept Of Hybridization

     While formation of simple molecules could be explained adequately by overlap of atomic orbitals, the formation of molecules of Be, B and C present problems of greater magnitude having no solution with the previous theory. To explain fully the tendency of these atoms to form bonds and the …

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Thermodynamics in Organic Chemistry

    ❒ For a reaction to be practical, the equilibrium must favor the products, and the reaction rate must be fast enough to form them in a reasonable time. These two conditions depend on the thermodynamics and the kinetics of a reaction, respectively. ❒Thermodynamics describes energy and equilibrium. How …

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Lewis Acids and Bases

Lewis Acids and Bases ❒ In 1923 G. N. Lewis proposed a theory that significantly broadened the understanding of acids and bases. ❒ As we go along we shall find that an understanding of Lewis acid– base theory is exceedingly helpful to understanding a variety of organic reactions. ❒ Lewis …

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Bond Dissociation Energy

  Bond Dissociation Energy   ** Bond breaking can be quantified using the bond dissociation energy. **The bond dissociation energy is the energy needed to homolytically cleave a covalent bond.   ** The energy absorbed or released in any reaction, symbolized by ΔH°, is called the enthalpy change or heat …

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Interpreting IR Spectra

   ** IR spectra contain a wealth of information about the structures of compounds. We show some of the information that can be gathered from the spectra of octane and methylbenzene (commonly called toluene) in Figs.1 and 2. Fig (1) Fig (2) ** In this subject we shall learn how …

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