Organic Chemistry Flashcards
α-Carbon
The carbon adjacent to a carbonyl; In amino acids, the chiral stereocenter in all amino acids except glycine.
Absolute Conformation
The exact spatial arrangement of atoms or groups in a chiral molecule around a single chiral atom, designated by (R) or (S).
Acetal
A functional group that contains a carbon atom bonded to 2 OR groups, an alkyl chain, and an H atom.
Achiral
A molecule that either does not contain a chiral center or contains chiral centers and a plane of symmetry; as such, it has a superimposable mirror image.
Aldehyde
A compound that has a carbonyl as a terminal group. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and propionaldehyde are common names used for the simplest aldehydes.
Aldol Condensation
A reaction in which an aldehyde or ketone acts as both the electrophile and nucleophile, resulting in the formation of a C-C bond in a new molecule called an aldol.
Alkanes
Compounds consisting of only carbons and hydrogens bonded with σ bonds. As chain length increases, boiling point, melting point, and density increase. However chain branching decreases both boiling point and density.
Amide
A compound that has a carbonyl group bonded to nitrogen. Amides are named by dropping that -oic acid in the corresponding carboxylic acid and adding -amide. Substituents attached to nitrogen are listed as prefixes and are preceded by N-.
Anhydride
A functional group containing 2 carbonyls separated by an oxygen atom (RCOOCOR); often the condensation dimer of a carboxylic acid
Axial
Describes group on a cyclic molecule that are perpendicular to the plane of the molecule, pointing straight up or down. Contrast with equatorial.
Azimuthal Quantum Number (I)
Describes the subshell in which an electron is found; possible values range from 0 to n-1, with I=0 representing s, I=1 representing p, I=2 representing d, and I=3 representing f.
Carbonyl group
A functional group consisting of a double bonded carbon and oxygen
Carboxylic Acid
A compound that has -COOH terminal group. Carboxylic acids are named by replacing -e in the alkane with -oic acid.
Carboxylic Acid Derivative
A compound that can be created from a carboxylic acid by nucleophilic acyl substation
ex. anhydrides, esters, amides
Chemical Properties
Characteristics of compounds that change chemical composition during a reaction; determines how a molecule will react with other molecules.
Chemical Shift (𝛿)
An arbitrary variable used to plot NMR spectra; measured in parts per million (ppm).
Chiral
A molecule or carbon atom bonded to four different groups and without a plane of symmetry; thus, it is not superimposable upon its mirror image and has an enantiomer. Contrast with achiral.
Chromatography
A separation technique that uses the retention time of a compound in the mobile phase as it travels through the stationary phase to separate compounds with different chemical properties.
Cis-Trans Isomers
A type of diastereomer with different arrangements of substituents about an immovable bond.
Condensation Reaction
A reaction that combines 2 molecules into one, with the loss of a small molecule.
Configurational Isomers
Isomers that can only interconvert by breaking bonds; include enantiomers, diasteriomers, and cis-trans isomers.
Conformational Isomers
Stereoisomers that differ by rotation about one or more single bonds, usually represented using Newman projections.
Conjugation
Alternating single and multiple bonds that create a system of parallel unhybridized p-orbitals; thus, electrons can be shared between these orbitals, forming electron clouds above and below the plane of the molecule and stabilizing it.
Constitutional Isomers
Molecules that have the same molecular formulas but different connectivity; also called structural isomers.
