Organic Chemistry

Question 1

α-Carbon

Answer 1

The carbon adjacent to a carbonyl; In amino acids, the chiral stereocenter in all amino acids except glycine.

Question 2

Absolute Conformation

Answer 2

The exact spatial arrangement of atoms or groups in a chiral molecule around a single chiral atom, designated by (R) or (S).

Question 3

Acetal

Answer 3

A functional group that contains a carbon atom bonded to 2 OR groups, an alkyl chain, and an H atom.

Question 4

Achiral

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Aldehyde

Answer 5

A compound that has a carbonyl as a terminal group. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and propionaldehyde are common names used for the simplest aldehydes.

Question 6

Aldol Condensation

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Alkanes

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Amide

Answer 8

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-.

Question 9

Anhydride

Answer 9

A functional group containing 2 carbonyls separated by an oxygen atom (RCOOCOR); often the condensation dimer of a carboxylic acid

Question 10

Axial

Answer 10

Describes group on a cyclic molecule that are perpendicular to the plane of the molecule, pointing straight up or down. Contrast with equatorial.

Question 11

Azimuthal Quantum Number (I)

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Carbonyl group

Answer 12

A functional group consisting of a double bonded carbon and oxygen

Question 13

Carboxylic Acid

Answer 13

A compound that has -COOH terminal group. Carboxylic acids are named by replacing -e in the alkane with -oic acid.

Question 14

Carboxylic Acid Derivative

Answer 14

A compound that can be created from a carboxylic acid by nucleophilic acyl substation

ex. anhydrides, esters, amides

Question 15

Chemical Properties

Answer 15

Characteristics of compounds that change chemical composition during a reaction; determines how a molecule will react with other molecules.

Question 16

Chemical Shift (𝛿)

Answer 16

An arbitrary variable used to plot NMR spectra; measured in parts per million (ppm).

Question 17

Chiral

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Chromatography

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Cis-Trans Isomers

Answer 19

A type of diastereomer with different arrangements of substituents about an immovable bond.

Question 20

Condensation Reaction

Answer 20

A reaction that combines 2 molecules into one, with the loss of a small molecule.

Question 21

Configurational Isomers

Answer 21

Isomers that can only interconvert by breaking bonds; include enantiomers, diasteriomers, and cis-trans isomers.

Question 22

Conformational Isomers

Answer 22

Stereoisomers that differ by rotation about one or more single bonds, usually represented using Newman projections.

Question 23

Conjugation

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Constitutional Isomers

Answer 24

Molecules that have the same molecular formulas but different connectivity; also called structural isomers.

Question 25

Cyanohydrin

Answer 25

A functional group containing a nitrile (CN) and a hydroxyl group.

Question 26

Coupling

Answer 26

In NMR spectroscopy, a phenonmenon that occurs when there are protons in such close proximity to each other that their magnetic moments affect each other’s appearance in the NMR spectrum by subdividing their peaks into subpeaks –> also called splitting.