Organic Reactions – A Level Chemistry Edexcel Revision

Organic reactions involve the chemical reactions of organic compounds. The structure and reactivity of these compounds are determined by their functional groups.
Functional groups are the reactive parts of molecules, like alcohols, ethers, amines, alkenes, and aldehydes. They dictate how the molecule interacts with other molecules.
There are two types of organic reactions: addition reactions and substitution reactions.
Addition reactions happen when two or more molecules combine to form a larger one. For instance, hydrogenation is an addition reaction that involves the addition of hydrogen to an alkene to make an alkane.
Substitution reactions involve one atom or group in a molecule being replaced by another atom or group. An example would be halogenation, where a hydrogen atom in an alkane is replaced by a halogen atom.
It’s important to differentiate between nucleophilic and electrophilic reactions. In nucleophilic reactions, the nucleophile (electron-rich species) reacts with an electron-poor species. In electrophilic reactions, it’s the other way around.
In order to predict the outcome of organic reactions, understanding reaction mechanisms is essential. Reaction mechanisms are step-by-step descriptions of what occurs on a molecular level in each step of a reaction.
The rate of an organic reaction can be impacted by factors such as temperature, concentration of reactants, and presence of a catalyst.
It is observed that certain organic reactions follow Markovnikov’s rule. This rule states that in the addition of a proton to an alkene or alkyne, the hydrogen atom is added to the carbon with the greatest number of hydrogen atoms already present, creating the most stable intermediate.
Understanding stereoisomerism is important, as some reactions produce different stereoisomers depending on the conditions of the reaction. These include geometric and optical isomers.
Finally, get familiar with identifying and naming organic compounds using IUPAC nomenclature, as it uses a logical system of naming that allows you to name a compound from its structure or identify a structure from its name.