Basic Concepts of Organic Chemistry | OCR A-Level Chemistry A (H432)
Basic Concepts of Organic Chemistry
- 82 questions
- 7 subtopics
- Module 4: Core organic chemistry
- Component 02 and Component 03
The language of organic chemistry: IUPAC naming, the four ways a structure is written, homologous series and functional groups, the three kinds of structural isomerism, and the curly-arrow conventions used in every mechanism that follows..
It covers iUPAC nomenclature and the alkyl groups, general, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae, homologous series, functional groups and saturation, structural isomers, bond fission and curly arrows, chain, position and functional group isomerism, curly arrows, homolytic and heterolytic fission and nucleophiles, electrophiles, radicals and the mechanism steps.
Sample questions from Basic Concepts of Organic Chemistry
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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IUPAC nomenclature and the alkyl groups
What principle determines which end of the carbon chain to start numbering from?
Show the answer
The chain is numbered so that substituents receive the lowest possible locant numbers. -
IUPAC nomenclature and the alkyl groups
What are the names of the alkyl groups derived from the first five alkanes?
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Methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, and pentyl. -
General, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae
In a skeletal formula, what does each vertex and line end represent?
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Each vertex and line end represents a carbon atom. -
General, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae
How can you distinguish between the skeletal formulae of cyclohexane and benzene?
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Benzene contains a circle inside the hexagon representing delocalised electrons, while cyclohexane is shown as a plain hexagon without a circle. -
Homologous series, functional groups and saturation
An aliphatic compound may contain carbon and hydrogen joined in straight chains. What other chain arrangement is also classified as aliphatic?
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Branched chains. -
Homologous series, functional groups and saturation
Besides C=C bonds, what other multiple carbon–carbon bond can make a compound unsaturated?
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C≡C triple bonds. -
Structural isomers, bond fission and curly arrows
What species are produced when a covalent bond undergoes homolytic fission?
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Two radicals are formed. -
Structural isomers, bond fission and curly arrows
What does a curly arrow represent in an organic mechanism?
Show the answer
The movement of an electron pair.
The 7 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| IUPAC nomenclature and the alkyl groups | Recall questions on finding and numbering the longest chain, building the name, and the first ten alkanes and their alkyl groups. | 9 |
| General, structural, displayed and skeletal formulae | Recall questions on what each type of formula shows, reading a skeletal formula, and when each is the right one to use. | 16 |
| Homologous series, functional groups and saturation | Recall questions on what members of a homologous series share, functional groups, aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic compounds, and saturated against unsaturated. | 14 |
| Structural isomers, bond fission and curly arrows | Recall questions on what structural isomers are, homolytic and heterolytic fission, how radicals are written, and what a curly arrow represents. | 11 |
| Chain, position and functional group isomerism | Recall questions on the three kinds of structural isomerism, with butane and methylpropane, butan-1-ol and butan-2-ol, and propanal and propanone as the worked cases. | 10 |
| Curly arrows, homolytic and heterolytic fission | Recall questions on where the tail and head of a curly arrow sit, how many electrons a full and a half arrow move, and the species each type of fission produces. | 12 |
| Nucleophiles, electrophiles, radicals and the mechanism steps | Recall questions on the definitions of nucleophile, electrophile, radical, carbocation and leaving group, and on the initiation, propagation and termination steps. | 10 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby sections
OCR A-Level Chemistry A Active Recall Guide
Every section, not just this one. 1,913 questions with their answers.