Degree of unsaturation is typically covered at the start of your organic chemistry course when you learn how to identify constitutional isomers. Yet it amazes me how many advanced orgo students still don't understand or know this concept at the Orgo 2 level.
This concept is CRITICAL for finding isomers, identifying key structures during spectroscopy, and identifying the unknown in a complex reaction roadmap when only a formula is given.
What's more confusing is the way this information is taught. A bunch of letters and numbers to calculate that appear to make little sense overall. This video will show you how to break up the complex ‘Degree of Unsaturation' formula into very simple and easy to understand components.
You will hear this referred to as:
- DOU = Degrees of Unsaturation
- IHD = Index of Hydrogen Deficiency
- DBE = Double Bond Equivalents
(Click HERE to watch this video on YouTube. Transcription coming soon)
