Organic

IUPAC Naming Conventions

Guidelines for naming organic compounds based on parent chain, functional groups, and substituents.

Alkane

Hydrocarbon without double or triple bonds, named with -ane suffix.

Alkene

Hydrocarbon with a double bond, named with -ene suffix.

Alcohol

Contains -OH group, named with -ol suffix or hydroxy- prefix.

Carboxylic Acid

Functional group with highest priority, named with -oic acid suffix.

Enantiomers

Nonsuperimposable mirror images with opposite stereochemistry.

Diastereomers

Stereoisomers that are not mirror images, including cis-trans isomers.

Fischer Projection

Representation of stereochemistry with vertical and horizontal lines.

Oxidizing Agent

Accepts electrons and causes oxidation in a redox reaction.

Nucleophiles

Electron-rich species that attack electrophiles in chemical reactions.

Tosylates

Contain the functional group –SO3C6H4CH3

Acetal

A 1° carbon with two –OR groups and an H atom

Ketal

A 2° carbon with two –OR groups

Deprotection

The process of converting an acetal or ketal back to a carbonyl by catalytic acid

Aldehydes

Are terminal functional groups containing a carbonyl bonded to at least one hydrogen

Ketones

Internal functional groups containing a carbonyl bonded to two alkyl chains

Carbonyl

A carbon-oxygen double bond. The reactivity of a carbonyl is dictated by the polarity of the double bond

Hydration Rxns

Water adds to a carbonyl, forming a geminal diol

Hemiacetal

Formed when one equivalent of alcohol reacts with an aldehyde

Hemiketal

Formed when one equivalent of alcohol reacts with a ketone

Imines

Nitrogen and nitrogen derivatives react with carbonyls to form imines, oximes, hydrazones, and semicarbazones

Cyanohydrins

Formed when hydrogen cyanide reacts with carbonyls

Aldol

Contains both aldehyde and an alcohol

Enolate

The nucleophile formed from the deprotonation of the a-carbon

Aldol Condensation

Formation of a new C-C bond followed by dehydration to give a conjugated enone

Keto / Enol

Aldehydes and ketones exist in both keto form (more common) and enol form (less common)

Amides

The condensation product of carboxylic acid and ammonia or an amine

Esters

The condensation products of carboxylic acids with alcohols, i.e., a Fischer Esterification

Anhydrides

The condensation dimers of carboxylic acids

Steric Hindrance

Describes when a reaction cannot proceed due to crowding at the reactive site

Bond Angles

Angles below 109.5° due to strain from compression.

Nucleophilic Substitution

Reaction undergone by all carboxylic acid derivatives.

Cleavage

Process where anhydrides are cleaved by nucleophiles to form different compounds.

Transesterification

Exchange of esterifying groups on an ester.

Amides

Can be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids under specific conditions.

Amino Acid

Contains an a-carbon attached to four groups, chiral in most cases.

Amphoteric

Amino acids can act as acids or bases.

Peptide Bonds

Formed by condensation reactions and can be cleaved hydrolytically.

Phosphoric Acid

Contains 3 hydrogens with unique pKa values.

Infrared Spectroscopy

Measures absorption of infrared light for molecular vibration analysis.