mchemoneoone
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Registered: 26-2-2011
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book help and question
Hello all I am new at this so i apologise in advance if i waste anyones time.
Im looking for a book on organic chemical reaction mechanisms but for beginners. I have downloaded a few and they are a little bit advanced for me and
from years ago. The book we are issued with only touches on reactions for a wide variety of compound types and it is in "for dummies" wording and
doesnt explain in detail whats actually happening just that it happens.
So from that I am finding it hard to get my head around predicting outcomes for reactions. There are a few more things that the book doesnt specify,
if anyone could shed some light in "for dummies" wording would be much appreciated.
1. Not in this book but i have seen drawn chemical structures that have a broken bond line between molecules. What does this mean?
2. When a salt formula/structure is written/drawn they have a : inbetween the acid and base. What sort of bond does this symbolize. Is it just an
atracttion or is it ionic or covalent depending on compounds involved? Do you use the electronegativity of the principal molecules to work out the
strength of the bond? Does the salt seperate into its cation and anion if its disolved in ether, polar, non polar solvents?
Any help would be much appreciated thanks again
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Chordate
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Registered: 23-2-2011
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Dotted lines usually signify polar attraction, like hydrogen bonding.
As for salt formula and dots, theres no real reason to pay attention. You can draw dots to keep track of where electrons are but in general you're
just going to be assuming that salts are ionic solids with certain charges/oxidation states based on the location of their elements in the periodic
table. The only thing you have to remember beyond that is some of the common ions like NO3 and SO4.
Don't be worried about the book seeming intimidating and hard at first. Since you have your own copy and don't need to sell it back later you can sit
down with it and take notes/annotate the shit out of that book. As you learn more of the terminology you'll be better able to ask questions and do
research on things that are vexing you.
Also: it sounds like you might benefit a bit from going back in spending some time with a little basic chemistry before proceeding to organic
chemistry. Organic is really all about pattern matching. For instance: understanding that amines and alcohols can behave similarly based on their
similar electronegativity, availability of a lone pair of electrons, and hydrogen bonds.
You'll have to learn this stuff eventually so you might as well spend some time going over it now before you delve into organic.
[Edited on 26-2-2011 by Chordate]
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