Update 2025-2026
State the Huckel Rule - Answers continuous, planar rings of conjugated atoms display unusual
stability if the number of pi electrons in the conjugated loops is 4n+2 where n is an integer.
Reduction - Answers the gain of electrons, loss of double bonds
Oxidation - Answers loss of electrons, gain of C-O bonds (or any other electronegative atom)
and gain of double bonds (-ene)
Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids/bases - Answers acid = proton donor
base = proton acceptor
Lewis definition of acid/bases - Answers acid = electron pair acceptor
base = electron pair donor
How do you decide acid is stronger? - Answers Hybridization: sp > sp2 > sp3
Electronegativity: F > O > N > Cl > Br
Atom Size: larger = better
Resonance
pKA
if pH > pKa what happens - Answers you deprotonate!
pKa of strong mineral acids (i.e. HCl, H2SO4, HBr) - Answers pKa= -5
pKa of the hydronium ion - Answers pKa= -3
pKa of Carboxylic Acids - Answers pKa= 5
pKa of phenols - Answers pKa= 9
pKa of ammonium (NH4) - Answers pKa= 10
pKa of water - Answers pKa= 15.74
pKa of methanol and primary alcohols - Answers pKa= 16
pKa of tert-butanol - Answers pKa= 18
pKa of aldehydes and ketones - Answers pKa= ~20
pKa of esters - Answers pKa= 25
, pKa of terminal alkynes - Answers pKa= 25
pKa of primary and secondary amines (NH3) - Answers pKa= 40
pKa of alkanes - Answers pKa= >60
Sn2 - Answers Primary and secondary electrophile
Need a good nucleophile
(no bulk)
Backside attack (inversion of stereochemistry)
Bimolecular
Polar Aprotic solvents
E2 - Answers Anti-coplanar formation of H and LG --> formation of a double bond
Good base, meh nucleophile
Rip off an H... formation of the double bond shoves the LG out
More substituted electrophile good, nucleophile bulk not important
K-OtBu !!!!
PBR3 - Answers Replaces OH group with Br through an SN2 (backside attack --> inversion of
stereochemistry)
SOCl2 - Answers Replaces OH group with Cl through an SN2 (backside attack --> inversion of
stereochemistry)
Tosylate - Answers Good leaving group, replaces an OH group by a pseudo-Sn2 reaction (no
inversion of stereochemistry)
Sn1 - Answers Formation of a carbocation by a good leaving group on a highly substituted
electrophile leaving (RDS), nucleophile comes in.
E1 - Answers Formation of a carbocation by a good leaving group on a highly substituted
electrophile leaving (RDS), good base then rips off an adjacent H and forms a double bond.
H2SO4 + H2O , or simply a strong acid such as HCl
Electrophile has a C-C double bond - Answers Alkene Electrophilic Addition (with H2O =
hydration of alkenes)