The Grignard reagent R-Mg-X (pronounced Grin-yard) is a carbon chain bound to a magnesium halide, typically used to form alcohols by attacking carbonyls such as in aldehydes or ketones. Grignards are my go-to for chain elongation in orgo 2 synthesis.Alkynes are my go-to for orgo 1 chain elongation. In English, please? Let’s back up a bit. […]
Organic Chemistry Tutorial Videos
Alkyne Acid Catalyzed Hydration Reaction and Mechanism
October 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Alkynes, like alkenes, can undergo acid-catalyzed hydration. However, since alkynes are slower to react under these conditions we prefer to use alternative reactions. This video walks you through the step by step reaction and mechanism including the final enol-keto tautomerization. (Watch on YouTube: Alkyne Hydration. Click CC for Transcription.) <– Watch Previous Video: Alkyne Reduction Hydrogenation Reaction and Mechanism […]
Acid Base Equilibrium Organic Chemistry Practice Questions
September 12, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Ranking acids and bases are about more than just knowing which is stronger/weaker. This video walks you through a few practice questions where you’re asked to determine the position of equilibrium for acid-base reactions WITHOUT using PKA values. Instead, we’re using CARIO to determine which acids and bases are stronger and predicting the reaction direction […]
Aromatic Side Chain Oxidation to Carboxylic Acid
May 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Aromatic side chain oxidation is an interesting reaction. Benzene is not easily oxidized, nor is an alkane. However, when attached to a benzene ring the benzylic carbon is susceptible to a unique oxidation yielding a benzoic acid. This video walks you through the reaction including what to look out for along with multiple practice problems. […]
Tollens Reagent Silver Mirror Test for Aldehydes
May 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Tollens Test for Aldehydes, also known as the Silver Mirror Test, is a great way to confirm if an unknown carbonyl is an aldehyde or not. This occurs by reacting the unknown carbonyl with Silver +1 which gets reduced to metallic silver (Ag 0) when the aldehyde is oxidized to a carboxylic acid. This […]
Naming Aromatic Compounds Part 2 Ortho Meta Para Substituents on Benzene
March 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment
In the previous video, Part 1 of the Aromatic Nomenclature, you saw how to name Benzene molecules using IUPAC and common nomenclature for a substituted benzene. This tutorial video below, Part 2, will walk you through the IUPAC rules for naming disubstituted benzene compounds using ortho meta and para. (Watch on YouTube: Aromatics 2. Click […]
Phenol Resonance and Acidity Organic Chemistry Video
March 29, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Phenol is a unique alcohol due to having a benzene ring and associated resonance. This video walks you through phenol resonance structures to help you understand how resonance impacts its acidity. Examples include comparing phenol to acetic acid as well as the impact of substituents on the ring like nitrophenol. (Watch on YouTube: Phenol Resonance/Acidity. Click […]
Acidity and Basicity of Alcohols Organic Chemistry Video
March 29, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Alcohols are amphiprotic making them both acids and bases. This video shows you how to rank acidity and basicity of alcohols using charge, electronegativity, resonance, and inductive effect with practice examples along the way. (Watch on YouTube: Acidity & Basicity. Click CC for Transcription.) Links & Resources Mentioned In This Video: Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and Lewis Acids […]
Alkyne Reduction Hydrogenation Reaction and Mechanism Video
January 20, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Alkynes possess 2 pi bonds allowing for a full or partial reduction. This video walks you through the conditions required for all 3 reduction products including complete hydrogenation as well as the partial reduction to a cis or trans alkene. You’ll also learn the step by step mechanism for (radical) dissolving metal reduction. (Watch on YouTube: […]
Introduction to Alkyne Reactions in Organic Chemistry
January 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Alkyne reactions typically mark the turning point between basic organic chemistry and this just got real! This video provides an introduction to what you can expect when studying alkyne reactions. From their basic chemistry and properties to the various alkyne reactions. (Watch on YouTube: Alkyne Intro. Click CC for Transcription.) –> Watch Next Video: Alkyne Reduction – Hydrogenation […]
