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MCAT - Organic Chemistry Overview

The document discusses key concepts in organic chemistry structure and reactivity including: 1) The valence and bonding properties of common elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and halogens. 2) How to determine formal charge and draw resonance structures. 3) Different types of isomers such as structural, stereoisomers, enantiomers and diastereomers. 4) Common functional groups and how hybridization determines molecular geometry. 5) Mechanisms of reactions like substitution, elimination, oxidation and reduction.

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100% found this document useful (2 votes)
1K views20 pages

MCAT - Organic Chemistry Overview

The document discusses key concepts in organic chemistry structure and reactivity including: 1) The valence and bonding properties of common elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and halogens. 2) How to determine formal charge and draw resonance structures. 3) Different types of isomers such as structural, stereoisomers, enantiomers and diastereomers. 4) Common functional groups and how hybridization determines molecular geometry. 5) Mechanisms of reactions like substitution, elimination, oxidation and reduction.

Uploaded by

rvar839
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Molecular Structure
  • Stereoisomers
  • Functional Groups
  • Hydrocarbons, Alcohols, & Substitutions
  • Reactions of Alcohols
  • Electrophilic Addition
  • Substitution Reactions
  • Nucleophilic Substitution
  • Oxidation and Acidity
  • Carbonyls & Amines
  • Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives
  • Amines
  • Biochemistry & Lab Techniques

MolecularStructure

Valence
Carbon4bonds Nitrogen3bonds Oxygen2bonds Halogens1bond

FormalCharge=(Group#)(#nonbondingelectrons)(1/2#bondingelectrons)

IndexofHydrogenDeficiency
TheNUMBEROFPAIRSofHYDROGENSrequiredtobecomeaSATURATEDALKANE
ForResonanceStructuresAtomsmustnotbemoved,onlyELECTRONSMOVE
AromaticMolecules (4n+2)electrons
HydrogenBondingoccurswhenHYDROGENisbondedtoaHIGHLYELECTRONEGATIVEATOM

ConformationalIsomers
NotTRUEisomersdifferentspatialorientationsofthesamemolecule

ChiralityAchiralcarbonisbondedtoFOURDIFFERENTSUBSTITUENTS
AbsoluteConfiguration
Rectus(totheright)&Sinister(totheleft)accordingtopriority
TheLARGESTMOLECULARWEIGHTistheHIGHESTPRIORITY(1)
Hydrogenisalwaysthelowestpriority(4)andshouldbeorientedoutthebackofthepage
RelativeConfiguration
TwomoleculeshavetheSAMErelativeconfigurationaboutacarboniftheydifferbyonlyONE
SUBSTITUENTandtheothersubstituentsareorientedidenticallyaboutthecarbon
OpticalActivity&ObservedRotation
Opticallyinactivecompoundsmayhave
Nochiralcenters & Equalamountofbothstereoisomers(aracemicmixture)
OpticallyActivecompoundscanbe
1) +/drotateslightCLOCKWISE
2) /lrotateslightCOUNTERCLOCKWISE
StructuralIsomers
1) Samemolecularformula
2) DIFFERENTBONDTOBONDCONNECTIVITY
3) Isobutane(C
4
H
10
) vs. nbutane(C
4
H
10
)
4) AreNOTTHESAMEMOLECULE

StereoisomerSUBTYPEEnantiomers
1) Samemolecularformula
2) Samebondtobondconnectivity
3) MIRRORIMAGESOFEACHOTHER
4) AreNOTTHESAMEMOLECULEoppositeabsoluteconfigurationsatchiralcenters
Samechemicalandphysicalcharacteristicsexceptfor
1) Reactionswithotherchiralcompounds
2) Reactionswithpolarizedlight
StereoisomerSUBTYPEDiastereomers
1) Samemolecularformula
2) Samebondtobondconnectivity
3) AreNOTMIRRORIMAGESOFEACHOTHER
4) AreNOTTHESAMEMOLECULE
GeometricIsomers(aspecialtypeofdiastereomer)
Cisisomers&Transisomers
MesoCompounds
1) WhenTWOchiralcentersOFFSETEACHOTHER
2) OpticallyInactive
3) PLANEofSYMMETRYdividescompoundintotwohalvesthataremirrorimages
StrongerDipoleMoment
StrongerIntermolecularForces
HigherBoilingPoints

HigherEnergyLevelHigherHeatofCombustion
FunctionalGroups
Alkane H
3
CCH
3
Alcohol ROH
Alkene H
2
C=CH
2
Ether ROR
Alkyne HCCH Amine RNH
2
R
2
NH R
3
N

Aldehyde Ketone CarboxylicAcid Ester Amide




Alkyl R Halogen[X] F/Cl/Br/I
Hydroxyl OH Geminaldihalide
Alkoxy OR Vicinaldihalide


Hemiketal R|R|OR|OH
Ketal R|R|OR|OR

Hemiacetal H|R|OR|OH
Acetal H|R|OR|OR

MesylGroup(Ms) TosylGroup(Ts)
H|R|OR|OH

Carbonyl Acyl Anhydride


Aryl Benzyl Hydrazine Hydrazone


Vinyl Allyl Nitrile Epoxide


Enamine Imine Oxime Nitro Nitroso



Hybridization BondAngles Shape
sp 180 Linear
sp
2
120 TrigonalPlanar
sp
3
109.5 Tetrahedral,Pyramidal,orBent

Hydrocarbons,Alcohols,&Substitutions
Alkanes
MethylCH
3
PrimaryCRH
2
SecondaryCR
2
H TertiaryCR
3

LowestDensityofallgroupsoforganiccompounds
Methane,Ethane,Propane,andButanearegasesatroomtemperature
INCREASEDMolecularWeight|INCREASEDBoilingPoint|INCREASEDMeltingPoint
INCREASEDBranching|DECREASEDBoilingPoint|INCREASEDMeltingPoint
CycloAlkanes
CHAIRandBOATconformations
LargeSubstituentsareMORESTABLEintheEQUATORIALPOSITION

Combustion(radical&exothermicreaction)
CH
4
+ 2O
2
+ energy CO
2
+ 2H
2
O+ heat
COMBUSTIONisaRADICALREACTION
HEATOFCOMBUSTIONchangeinenthalpyofacombustionreaction

Halogenation(radical&exothermicreaction)
AlkaneswillreactwithHALOGENSinthepresenceofheatorlighttoformaFREERADICAL
HOMOLYTICCLEAVAGEbondisbrokenwithoneelectrongoingwitheachatom
1) INITIATION
a. Halogenisdiatomicmolecule,andHOMOLYTICCLEAVAGEresultsin2freeradicals
2) PROPAGATION
a. HALOGENRADICALremoveshydrogenfromalkane,creatinganALKYLRADICAL
b. ALKYLRADICALreactswithdiatomicmoleculecreatingALKYLHALIDEandaNEWHALOGEN
RADICAL
3) TERMINATION
a. TWORADICALSBONDorRADICALbondstothewallofthecontainertoendthechainreaction
StabilityofALKYLRADICALS: 3>2>1>methyl
FluorineVERYREACTIVE,majorproductisPRIMARY
ChlorineREACTIVE,majorproductiswhateverisLEASTSTERICALLYHINDERED
BromineSELECTIVE,majorproductisTERTIARY
Dehydrationofanalcohol(E1Reaction)
Alcohol+ hotconcentratedH
2
SO
4
Alkene+ H
2
O+ HSO
4

SaytzeffRuleMAJORproductofELIMINATIONistheMOSTSUBSTITUTEDALKENE

Dehydrohalogenation(E1orE2Reaction)
E1MechanismWITHOUTastrongbase2stepsunimolecular(substrateonly)
1) HalogendropsoffformingaCARBOCATION
2) Hydrogenisremovedleavingalkene

E2MechanismSTRONGBULKYBASE1stepbimolecular(substrate&nucleophile)
1) BaseREMOVESahydrogenadjacenttothehalogen
2) Halogendropsoffleavingalkene

InELIMINATION,basepullsoffahydrogen
InSUBSTITUTION,nucleophileattackscarbon

CatalyticHydrogenation(additionreaction)
Heterogeneouscatalyst(Ni/Pd/Pt)promotesSYNaddition
HydrogenationisEXOTHERMICwithhighenergyofactivation

OxidationOfAlkenes
OZONOLYSISozoneisVERYreactive,breakingrightthroughalkenesandalkynes

AlkenesINTOtwoCARBONYLGROUPS
AlkynesINTOtwoCARBOXYLICACIDS

ElectrophilicAddition
ElectrophilesattractedtoelectronsPOSITIVELYCHARGED & AlkenesareELECTRONRICH

WhenHF/HCl/HBr/HIareaddedtoanalkene:
MarkovnikovsrulethehydrogenwilladdtothecarbonwiththeMOSTHYDROGENS

HBr&Peroxides(ROOR)addtoalkenesANTIMARKOVNIKOV

HydrationofanAlkene
Alkene+ colddiluteH
2
SO
4
+ H
2
O Alcohol

Oxymercuration/Demercuration
1) Oxymercurialionattacksalkene,formingtriangularmercurycomplex
2) H2OattacksANTItoformanALCOHOL,losingthemercurygroup
3) IfROHisusedinsteadofwater,anETHERisformed

Hydroboration
Alkene+ BH3+ peroxide Alcohol(antimarkovnikov)

HalogenationOfAnAlkene
Br
2
andCl
2
addANTItoalkenestoformVICDIHALIDES

Benzene
UndergoesSUBSTITUTION,notaddition
Flatmolecule,stabilizedbyRESONANCE
Ortho/Meta/Para

ElectronDonatingGroups(ACTIVATEStheRing)
STRONGLYdonating(ortho/paradirecting)
O

OH NR
2

MODERATELYdonating(ortho/paradirecting)
OR
WEAKLYdonating(ortho/paradirecting)
R

ElectronWithdrawingGroups(DEACTIVATEStheRing)
STRONGLYwithdrawing(metadirecting)
NO
2
NR
3
+
CCl
3

MODERATELYwithdrawing(metadirecting)
Carbonyls SO
3
H CN
WEAKLYwithdrawing(ortho/paradirecting)
Halogens

SN1(substitution/nucleophilic/unimolecular)
1) HydrogendropsoffformingaCARBOCATIONratedeterminingstep
2) Nucleophileattacksthecarbocation

SN2(substitution/nucleophilic/bimolecular)
1) Nucleophileattackssubstratefrombehindknocksleavinggroupfreewhilebindingtosubstrate

Nucleophilicity
ABASEisastrongerNUCLEOPHILEthanitsconjugateacid,butaBASEisNOTNECESSARILYaNUCLEOPHILE

IfaNUCLEOPHILEbehavesasaBASE,ELIMINATIONRESULTS

LESSBULKYNUCLEOPHILE,withNEGATIVECHARGE&POLARIZABILITYaddto
nucleophilicity
Solvents
POLARPROTICSOLVENTSstabilizethenucleophileandanycarbocationthatforms
INCREASES
N
1SPEED DECREASES
N
2SPEED

POLARAPROTICSOLVENTScannotformhydrogenbonds
INCREASES
N
2SPEED DECREASES
N
1SPEED

LeavingGroups
ThebestleavinggroupsarethosethatareSTABLEWHENTHEYLEAVE
TheWEAKERtheBASE,theBETTERtheLEAVINGGROUP

SN1vs.SN2
SN1 SN2
Nucleophile N/A StrongNucleophile
Substrate 2/3 Methyl/1/2(unhindered)
Solvent Polarsolventincreasesrate PolarsolventDECREASESrate
Speed [Substrate] [substrate][nucleophile]
Stereochemistry CreatesRACEMICmixture INVERTSaroundchiralcenter
Skeleton Maybeskeletalrearrangement NOrearrangement

Alcohols
BPgoesupwithincreasingMolecularWeight
ROHhydrogenbonds,dramaticallyraisingMPandBP
AlcoholscanbehaveasACIDS,withmethylOHbeingtheSTRONGESTACID

GrignardSynthesisofAlcohols

OxidationOfAlcohols
OxygenHydrogenratioINCREASESOxidationoccurred
OxygenHydrogenratioDECREASESreductionoccurred

ThePinacolRearrangement
InVICINALDIOLS,DEHYDRATIONproductisaKETONEorALDEHYDE

Ethers
ALMOSTALWAYSTHEANSWERtoSOLVENTQUESTIONSontheMCAT
ROR+ HBr ROH+ RBr

AciditiesOfFunctionalGroups

Alkane Alkene Hydrogen Ammonia Alkyne


ALDEHYDE
Alcohol Water
CARBOXYLIC
ACID

Carbonyls&Amines
TheCarbonyl
CarbonDOUBLEBONDEDtooxygen PLANARStereochemistry PARTIALPOSITIVEonthecarbon

Aldehydes&Ketones
ALDEHYDE R(C=O)H KETONE R(C=O)R
FORMALDEHYDE H(C=O)H ACETONE CH3(C=O)CH3
LowerBoilingPointthanALCOHOL

carbonisVERYACIDIClosesaprotontobecomeanENOLATEION(stabilizedbyresonance)
Indicarbonyls,theENOLATEIONICformismoreprevalent
KETOENOLTautomerization

FormationofAcetals
KETONE+ALCOHOL HEMIKETAL+ALCOHOL KETAL

ALDEHYDE+ALCOHOL HEMIACETAL+ALCOHOL ACETAL

Acetals/KetalscanactasBLOCKINGGROUPS
toPRESERVEaCARBONYLGROUP

AldolCondensation
Aldehyde+Aldehyde Ketone+Ketone Aldehyde+Ketone

hydrogenisabstracted,forminganENOLATEION
carbonofENOLATEattackscarbonylcarbonofothermolecule,formingALKOXIDEION
ALKOXIDEIONgrabsahydrogentobecomeanALDOL(aldehyde&alcohol)

Halogenation&HaloformReaction
HALOGENSaddtoKETONESatthecarboninpresenceofacidorbase
METHYLKETONEwithBASE,thecarbonisCOMPLETELYHALOGENATED
HALOFORMbreaksoff(CHCl3/CHBr3/CHF3)leavingCARBOXYLATEION

WittigReaction
Ketone/Aldehyde+ Ylide(carbanion) ALKENE

UnsaturatedCarbonyls
Alsocalled1,4additionaddingHXformsENOLTAUTOMERandthenKETO

CarboxylicAcids
CarboxylicAcid RCOOH FormicAcid HCOOH
BenzoicAcid C6H5COOH AceticAcid CH3COOH
Ifthenameendsinate RCOO

MakeSTRONGHYDROGENBONDStoformdimmers
ThiseffectivelydoublesM.W.significantlyincreasingB.P.

Decarboxylation
CARBOXYLATEIONLOSESCO2tobecomeKETOENOLTAUTOMERS

CarboxylicAcidDerivativesACYLCHLORIDES
MOSTREACTIVEOFALLCARBOXYLICACIDDERIVATIVES
ACIDCHLORIDE+ H2O CARBOXYLICACID+ HCl
ACIDCHLORIDE+ ROH ESTER+ HCl
ACIDCHLORIDE+ RNH2 AMIDE+ HCl
ACIDCHLORIDE+ RCOOH ANHYDRIDE+ HCl

ACIDCHLORIDE+ H2O CARBOXYLICACID+ HCl


ESTER+ H2O CARBOXYLICACID+ ROH
AMIDE+ H2O CARBOXYLICACID+ RNH2
ANHYDRIDE+ H2O CARBOXYLICACID+ RCOOH

ALDEHYDES/KETONES NucleophilicADDITION

CARBOXYLICACIDS/DERIVATIVES NucleophilicSUBSTITUTION

CarboxylicAcidDerivativesESTERIFICATION

CarboxylicAcidDerivativesTRANSESTERIFICATION

CarboxylicAcidDerivativesACETOACETICESTERSYNTHESIS
ACETOACETICESTER+ RX+ H+/HEAT KETONE+ CO2

CarboxylicAcidDerivativesREACTIVITIES
Amide Ester CarboxylicAcid AcidAnhydride AcylChloride

Amines
Ammonia NH3
AmineDegreedependsonnumberofATTACHEDRGROUPS
1) ActasLEWISBASEDONATINGLONEPAIROFELECTRONS
2) ActasaNUCLEOPHILEwhereLONEPAIRofELECTRONSattacksPOSITIVECHARGE
3) NitrogencantakeonaFOURTHBOND(+)
4) NitrogencanHYDROGENBONDincreasingBOILINGPOINTandSOLUBILITY

CondensationwithKetones
AMINE+ ALDEHYDE/KETONE WATER+ IMINE/ENAMINE

WolffKishnerReduction
HYDRAZINE+ALDEHYDE/KETONE ALKANE+WATER+N2

AlkylationofAmine

HofmannElimination

Amines&NitrousAcid
NITROUSACID+1AROMATICAMINE DIAZONIUMION

TheDiazoniumGroupisEASILYREPLACED

Amides
Acetamide Nethylacetamide

Lactams(CYCLICAMIDES)

HofmannDegradation

PhosphoricAcid

Whenheated,phosphoricacidformsPHOSPHORICANHYDRIDES
Triphosphatesexistasnegativeions,suchasATP

Biochemistry&LabTechniques
FattyAcids
LONGCARBONCHAINWITHCOOHontheend

AminoAcids
ZwitterionDIPOLARION(onesideandoneside+)

BASICAMINOACIDS
Histidine
Arginine
Lysine

ISOELECTRICPOINTthepHwhere100%oftheaminoacidsareZWITTERIONS

Carbohydrates
1) GENERALFORMULAC
n
(H
2
O)
n

2) CanhaveeitherALDEHYDEorKETONEgroupstobecalledALDOSEorKETOSE
3) ANOMERICCARBONtheONLYCARBONattachedtoTWOOXYGENS

LabTechniques
SPECTROSCOPY
NuclearMagneticResonance(NMR)
InfraredSpectroscopy(IR)
UltravioletSpectroscopy(UV)
SPECTROMETRY
MassSpectrometry
SEPARATIONTECHNIQUES
Chromatography
Distillation
Crystallization
Extraction

NMR
1) EachpeakisaCHEMICALLYEQUIVALENTHYDROGEN
2) SPLITTINGPEAKSiscreatedbyNEIGHBORINGHYDROGENSasbyn+1(n=#ofneighboringcarbons)
3) TotheLEFTisDOWNFIELD(unshieldedbyelectronegativeatoms)

IRSpectroscopy
CARBONYLGROUP 1700
OHGROUP 32003600

UltravioletSpectroscopy
UVstartsaround220nm(butadiene)
1) EachadditionalCONJUGATEDBONDadds3040nmtothewavelengthABSORBEDMOST

VisibleSpectrum
Ifcompoundhas8+CONJUGATEDDOUBLEBONDS,itsabsorbanceenterstheVISIBLESPECTRUM
Carotenehas11CONJUGATEDDOUBLEBONDS,withanabsorbanceofabout500nm
CaroteneabsorbstheBLUEGREENcolorof500nm,anddisplaystheCOMPLEMENTARYCOLORofred
orange

MassSpectrometry
MassSpectrometrygivestheMOLECULARWEIGHT
Samplemoleculesarebombardedbyelectrons,causingthemtobreakapartandIONIZE
Ionsareacceleratedthroughamagneticfield,mostare+1
RADIUSOFCURVATUREdependsupontheMASStoCHARGERATIO(m/z)
BASEPEAKthelargestpeak
PARENTPEAKthepeakmadebythemolecularion(sameasORIGINALMOLECULEbutwithoutONE
ELECTRONsoithasa+1charge)

Chromatography
SeparationofamixturebypassingitoverorthroughamatrixthatADSORBSdifferentcompoundswith
DIFFERENTAFFINITIES
MOBILEPHASE/STATIONARYPHASE
TheMOREPOLARcompoundmovesmoreSLOWLYbecauseitbindstothePOLARSTATIONARYPHASE

Distillation
SeparationbaseduponVAPORPRESSURE
SeparatesasolutionoftwovolatileliquidswithaBOILINGDIFFERENCEofatleast20C
ThecompoundwiththeLOWERBOILINGPOINT(HIGHERVAPORPRESSURE)willboiloffandcanbe
captured

Crystallization
WorksontheprinciplethatPURESUBSTANCESFORMCRYSTALSmoreeasilythanimpuresubstances
CrystallizationisVERYINEFFICIENT

Extraction
BasedonSOLUBILITYDUETOSIMILARPOLARITIES
LIKEDISSOLVESLIKE

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