Acids and bases do not require much math at the organic chemistry level. Instead you will be required to understand what makes a strong acid or weak conjugate base. Your goal is to understand the nature of acidity and basicity so that you can comfortably rank the strong and weak molecules based on structure and […]
Acid Base Practice Problems Quiz
Ready to test your knowledge of acids and bases with a few practice problems? This quiz is designed to follow my Acids and Bases tutorial video series. But I’m not looking to see if you simply ‘memorized’ the concepts. The videos use simple examples to demonstrate concepts, these questions will test you at a slightly […]
Acid Base Equilibrium Organic Chemistry Practice Questions
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 […]
Orbital Hybridization and Acid Base Strength
Video 7 in the acid/base tutorial video series helps you understand the effect of hybridization on acid base strength. This video discusses WHY sp hybrids are more acidic and sp3 hybridized atoms more basics. This video also shows you how to calculate percent ‘s’ character (click HERE to watch this video on YouTube or check Transcript […]
Atom Size or Electronegativity to Rank Acidity in Organic Chemistry
Video 4 in the acid base tutorial video series shows you how to compare the size or electronegativity of the charged atom. Specifically, you want to look at the atoms on the conjugate base when they gain a charge after losing the acidic hydrogen. It’s not just about memorizing when to compare electronegativity, or when to […]
Using Charge to Rank Acids and Bases in Organic Chemistry
Charge is the first think to look for when asked to rank acids and bases without a given Ka or pKa. This video shows you how to compare the charges of the acids, or compare the conjugate bases. But more importantly, this video shows you how to tackle any acid/base ranking question by comparing conjugates […]
Ranking acids and bases using ka or pKa values and pure logic
In general chemistry you spent many hours drawing out ICE charts and doing pKa calculations. After many calculations you were able to determine strong and weak acids. Not in organic chemistry. At the orgo level you may be given ka/pKa values, but not for the purpose of doing calculations. These values help you rank strong or […]
Resonance Effect on Acidity in Organic Chemistry
Video 5 in the acid/base tutorial video series shows you how to use conjugate base resonance to determine the strength or stability of conjugate bases. If you can logically understand how resonance effects stability you’ll have an easier time determining acidity of neutral starting acid molecules. (click HERE to watch this video on YouTube. Catch […]
Inductive Effect on Acid Base Strength in Organic Chemistry
The inductive effect is likely the most tricky when it comes to ranking acids and bases in organic chemistry. In this video I show you how to view atoms as ‘cheerleaders’. This will help you get a better understanding of the concept and help you rank acids and bases. (click HERE to watch this video […]
