Final Flashcards
What makes a compound organic?
If it is composed of carbon.
Define Natural Products
Molecules that are made by nature and are naturally occurring in our environment.
Are chlorophylls and Beta Carotene natural products?
Yes
What is the responsibility of chlorophyll?
Responsible for the green color of plants and the absorption of light to turn CO2 and water into chemical energy. (photosynthesis).
What is the main difference between chlorophyll and hemoglobin?
The central atom making their structure. Chlorophyll has magnesium in the center and hemoglobin has iron in the center.
How is chlorophyll beneficial to human health?
It can swap out magnesium for iron, converting to hemoglobin.
List some important things about beta Carotene.
It is the compound that gives carrots its orange color and is found in vegetables such as kale, spinach, and asparagus. Has anti-oxidative properties, is an anti-aging molecule, and fights oxidative stress.
Define Chromatography
General term that covers separation methods that utilize physical properties of the solutes in a mixture and the solvents used to separate them.
What is the main purpose of thin-layer chromatography?
To see substance is pure or if its consisted of multiple things.
What are the components of TLC?
The stationary and the mobile phases. The stationary phase is made of adsorbent material, competing with the mobile phase for the attraction of individual solutes. Thin plate of silica gel acts as the stationary phase. The mobile phase is made up of a solvent or a combination of solvents that vary in polarity.
Explain how TLC works.
As mentioned, it is made up of the stationary phase and the mobile phase. The stationary phase is the silica gel that is polar. The mobile phase is a solvent or a combination of solvents that vary in polarity. Polar solutes will move shorter along the plate since they have a strong attraction for the stationary phase. On the other hand, less polar solutes will travel further along the plate.
What does it mean for a sample to be resolved?
When two or more components can be separated.
Define Solvent Front
Where the solvent stopped traveling when the TLC plate is removed from the solvent.
By looking at a TLC plate, how could you tell if the substance is pure?
If there are multiple spots that resulted, then the substance is impure (consisted of multiple parts).
How do polar/non-polar compounds travel in the TLC plate?
The more polar the substance, the less it will travel in the TLC plate. The more non-polar it is, the more it will travel UP the TLC plate.
Define Retention Factor and what it indicates.
Rf= distance to the middle of the spot/distance to solvent front. The higher the Rf value, the more it interacted with the mobile phase (more non-polar). The lower the Rf value, the more it interacted with the stationary phase.
What is the relationship between Rf Values and Polarity?
Inverse.
Define Column Chromatography
The most common technique for purification. Silica gel acts as the stationary phase and the solvent/eluent added acts as the mobile phase. In column chromatography, the direction of solvent flow is from top to bottom, opposite of TLC: both the compound and the solvent are added to the top, which flow DOWN the column. So, the top layer is made of the solvent/compound add the bottom layer is made of silica gel.
What are the regions of visible light?
400-700nm; ROYGBIV. Red corresponding to 400nm, and violet corresponding to the violet.
What’s the relationship between wavelength and energy?
Inverse
What makes a molecule conjugated?
It has to have at least 2 pi bonds.
What’s the relationship between the observed color and the absorbed color?
The observed color is opposite on the wheel compared to the absorbed color.
What is rotovap primarily used for?
To remove solvents quickly from the extract that contains the organic compound dissolved alongside the organic solvent. LOWER PRESSURE ABOVE THE LIQUID TO ALLOW IT TO BOIL BELOW ITS NORMAL BOILING POINT.
In the 2nd lab, the addition of what solvent led to the formation of the yellow band?
Hexanes
The formation of a yellow band in column chromatography is indicative of what?
The separation of Beta Carotene.
The formation of a green band in column chromatography is indicative of what?
The separation of chlorophylls.
The addition of which solvent led to the formation of a green band?
30% Acetone/hexanes.
In the second lab, how were beta carotene and chlorophylls isolated/extracted?
They were isolated via solid-liquid extraction (vacuum filtration). They were separated via column chromatography to see their color properties.
What is the relationship between conjugation of a molecule and the light that it absorbs?
The more conjugated the molecule, the higher wavelength light is absorbs.
In the 2nd experiment, which band eluted first from column chromatography?
The yellow band, meaning beta carotene eluted first.
You have been provided UV/Vis spectra for β-carotene and chlorophyll A/B. Based on their absorbances, which product eluted first? Which product eluted second? Using the data provided, explain how you came to your conclusions.
We know that polar compounds have intense absorptions of light frequency, which can be seen in the absorbance diagram of chlorophyll. Being the more polar compound, chlrophyll eluted 2nd. The non-polar compound, beta carotene, eluted first.
Consider the conjugated systems of the chlorophylls and hemoglobin. Suggest a reason for why hemoglobin is red-shifted compared to the chlorophyll b, which appears yellow (chlorophyll a has a more distinct green color).
Chlorophyll A is more conjugated than B, leading to it absorbing light at a higher wavelength.
Define Stereoisomers
Molecules that have the same formula, but different spatial arrangements.
What are the conformational isomers?
Eclipsed and Staggered
Which of the conformational isomers are more stable? Why?
Staggered is more stable (lower in energy). In the eclipsed conformation, there is torsional strain, leading to an increase in the energy.
Define Torsional Strain
The strain imposed by interactions in the eclipsed state. (
What is the major type of strain present in cyclopropane and cyclobutane?
Angular strain
What structure does cyclobutane adopt to avoid angular strain?
Puckered
What structure does cyclopentane adopt to alleviate strain?
Envelope
Which of the cycloalkanes is the least strained? Why?
Cyclohexane. Because it can adopt the chair conformation to minimize torsional strain.
How is an axial position pointing?
Straight up or down.
From wedges and dashes, how could you tell if something is going to be in the equatorial or axial position?
Wedge is up in the chair conformation and dash is down on the chair conformation
What happens to cycloalkanes in terms of experienced strain after they surpass cyclohexane?
They become more strained due to the experiencing of transannularstrain, arising from the steric clash of substituents from the opposite side of the ring.
Which force field can generally be applied to most of the molecules for?
GAFF
Define Geometry Minimization
A process that finds the lowest energy conformation.
How many protons are involved in transannular strain on each face of cyclooctane? Cycloheptane?
3.
What makes a carbon chiral?
Sp3 hybridized and attached to 4 different groups.
Define Achiral
2 molecules are the same and are superimposable.
Define Enantiomer
Non-superimposable mirror image of a molecule.
How do you determine the configuration of a molecule?
Priority assignment based on atomic #. Make sure that the lowest priority group is pointing away. If not, then what looks to be R is S and what looks to be S is R. Clockwise —> R; Counterclockwise —> S