A sedative that changed drug law, the case of thalidomide Thalidomide is the textbook example of why stereochemistry matters in medicine — and also a case where the textbook version is too simple. A single stereocenter, an acidic C–H bond, and a protein target nobody knew about until 2010 together explain one of the worst drug disasters of the twentieth century. The West German company Chemie Grünenthal launched thalidomide in 1957 as a non-barbiturate sedative, sold over the

A quick history of guncotton and its chemistry.

A quick and detailed review of oxymercuration of alkenes.

This is a detailed step-by-step mechanism of enamine formation.

Aldehydes and ketones undergo addition at the carbonyl carbon. Depending on the nucleophile, a direct addition at the carbonyl carbon can occur (usually strong nucleophiles that are charged) or the carbonyl can be "activated" prior to addition (usually with weak, uncharged nucleophiles) to increase the electrophilicity of functional group. For imine and enamine formation, we will need to activate the carbonyl since we are going to be adding uncharged amines. Take a look at t

Addition of HBr to alkenes with peroxides.

When examining addition reactions of alkenes, the resulting products can be categorized as either Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov. The term Markovnikov is named after the Russian chemist Vladimir Markovnikov, who formulated the Markovnikov Rule. This rule indicates where an addition will occur on the molecule, thus describing the molecule's regiochemistry. Simply put, the Markovnikov rule states that the carbocation will form on the more substituted carbon. Consequently, this

These quick and easy ways to determine absolute configuration when group four is not on a dash will save you time on an exam.

Organic chemistry can feel like a mountain to climb. You open your textbook, and suddenly you’re swimming in a sea of molecules, reactions, and mechanisms. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. But what if I told you there’s a way to make this journey smoother and even enjoyable? Yep, I’m talking about video tutorials. They’re not just a fancy add-on; they can actually transform how you learn organic chemistry. Let’s dive into why video learning for chemistry is such a game-changer.

If you've ever been asked "is this a strong acid or a weak acid?" on an exam, the answer comes down to one idea: how completely the acid or base reacts with water. In this guide, we'll cover the difference between strong and weak acids and bases, the short list of strong ones you need to memorize, common weak acids and bases with their Ka and Kb values, what happens when you mix them, and why bleach is a weak base. Strong vs. Weak Acids and Bases: The Key Difference An acid i

If you are in organic chemistry II, you will likely cover reactions involving the alpha carbons of carbonyls. These reactions cover a wide range of reactions including the aldol condensation, Claisen condensation, the malonic ester synthesis, the acetoacetic ester synthesis, the Michael reaction, and the Robinson annulation. In this post, we are going to look at the malonic ester synthesis. Join us for a look at the malonic ester synthesis in organic chemistry. Take a look

Organic chemistry can feel like a mountain to climb, right? You open your textbook, and suddenly, it’s a jungle of molecules, reactions, and mechanisms. But guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way. With the right approach and some expert help, you can actually master organic chemistry. I’m here to walk you through some practical learning strategies for chemistry that make this subject way more approachable and even fun. Ready to dive in? Why Organic Chemistry Feels So Tou

Need to review concepts in hybridization? Have a look at this new whiteboard lecture to catch you up on everything dealing with hybridization (focusing only on sp, sp2, and sp3). This video lecture will show how we combine atomic orbitals and hybridize them to obtain bonding molecular orbitals in valence bond theory. Enjoy!

In this post, we cover calculating theoretical and percent yields for reactions, including determination of the limiting reactant.

Take a look at our second whiteboard lecture on stoichiometry below. In this lecture, Dr. Miller discusses determining which agents are...

In this new video series, we will cover some of the most crucial aspects of general and organic chemistry! In this video, Dr. Zane...

This post covers the use of significant figures in calculations.

This post discusses the basics of making measurements and rules for significant figures.

This post begins a discussion of numbers used in chemistry.