Organic Chemistry Questions and Short Answers

Draw complete structural formulas and  condensed structural formulas for

        a) three compounds of formula C₃H₈O

        b) five compounds of formula C₃H₆O

The condensed structural formula disguises the molecule's true vastness by revealing only the number of atoms present. What remains hidden from sight are the bond connections, the bond angles, and their three-dimensional arrangements, so what we observe is just the molecule's literal condensed form.

There are three types of Van der Waal’s force- Keesom Forces, Debye forces, and London Dispersion forces. Amongst the three types, the London Dispersion forces are the weakest interactions.

The discovery of isomerism marked the advent of structural chemistry, where it became significantly important to establish structural formulas, welcome the abundance of structurally diverse compounds, classify them, and study their individual properties and impacts.

Did you know that, back in the 1900s, it was believed that a hook and a loop type of closure was the covalent bond responsible for holding atoms in a molecule? Interesting, right? 

Debye interactions require polar molecules to show polar-nonpolar type of intermolecular attractive interactions. Therefore, the polar atoms participating in Debye interactions must have comparatively high electronegativity to show stronger interactions. If the electronegativity difference (0.5-1.7) is greater in a polar molecule, the polarity it induces on the neighboring non-polar atom will also be more significant, leading to stronger Debye interactions.

Free radicals are generated due to the homolytic bond cleavage, a type of bond breaking where each atom holding the two-electron covalent bond gets one electron. Such a homolytic bond cleavage requires an input of energy, either in the form of heat or light.

The longest carbon chain is the parent chain containing the principal functional group. 

The principle functional group is always given the highest priority, lowest number (1 before 2, 3, 4...), and assigned as a suffix while writing the nomenclature. Therefore, the numbering of the parent chain always starts from the principal functional group.

A radical reaction usually happens in three steps- Initiation (creation of free radicals), Propagation (multiplication and growth of radical reaction), and Termination (stopping of the free radical reaction).

Radical inhibitors are chemical species that inhibit radical reactions by halting the chain propagation step.

Examples of such inhibitors are Hydroquinone, BHT (2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol), etc.

If the size of a nonpolar atom is greater, it means that the atom has a higher number of electron containing orbitals. The outer electrons are away from experiencing the inward attractive pull of the nucleus (nuclear charge) and capable of undergoing electron-cloud distortion or polarization.