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Why are covalent bonds directional?
It is said that covalent bonds are directional, while ionic bonds are not. Why? Is it because of the orientation/directional properties of the overlapping orbitals?
Abhirikshma
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Are the bonding orbitals in methane equivalent - photoelectron spectrum
The low energy portion (the part dealing with the $\ce{2s}$ and $\ce{2p}$ electrons) of the photoelectron (PE) spectrum of methane is reproduced below.
(image source)
The reaction being examined is the following one-photon process
$$\ce{CH4 +…
ron
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Which carbocation is more stable, the ethyl- or 1-propyl-carbocation?
$\ce{C2H5+ vs \ C3H7+}$
There are two conflicting trends here.
Inductive effect of ethyl will be higher than that of methyl so carbocation attached to ethyl (3 carbons in total) should be more stable.
On the other hand 3 hyperconjugation structures…
Help needed
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Is activated carbon classified as organic or inorganic?
Organic compounds are typically defined as “molecules containing carbon”. Wikipedia states that there for some historical (read: non-logical) reasons,
a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon,…
F'x
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Why do atoms "want" to have a full outer shell?
Okay, so I know that this is about filling the orbitals of the atom, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why? For example, an Oxygen atom has 8 protons and 8 electrons spinning around it. Oxygen wants to have 8 valence electrons so it…
Mertcan Ekiz
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Which is the densest gas known?
Which is the densest gas known to exist under normal "shirt sleeve" conditions: room temperature, one atmosphere, won't explode on contact with air, won't kill everyone in the building in trace amounts, etc.
smithkm
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Why are DCM and chloroform so resistant towards nucleophilic substitution?
In the book Organic Chemistry by J. Clayden, N. Greeves, S. Warren, and P. Wothers I found the following reasoning:
You may have wondered why it is that, while methyl chloride (chloromethane) is a reactive electrophile that takes part readily in…
Philipp
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Why is heroin a more potent drug than morphine, despite having a similar structure?
The structures of heroin and morphine are quite similar, with heroin being formed by acetylation of morphine:
Why is heroin so much more potent than morphine, when their structures are so similar? What biochemical effects lead to heroin's…
Aniruddha Deb
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Is "stainless" a bulk or a surface property of stainless steel?
In particular, if I cut a block of stainless steel in half, would the newly formed faces be stainless as well?
Sparkler
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Is honey really a supersaturated solution? Does heating to un-crystalize redissolve it or melt it?
In the SciShow video Honey: Bacteria's Worst Enemy after about 00:30 the narrator says:
Honey is only about 17% water. Most, but not all of what remains is sugar. The two main types of sugar in honey are glucose and fructose. Like all sugars,…
uhoh
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Is there radioactivity at absolute zero?
Theoretically, will a radioactive material still be radioactive at absolute zero? What would happen at the lowest realistic temperatures we have ever achieved?
Will radioactivity stop at absolute zero, since it is a nuclear phenomenon and nuclear…
Harsh jain
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29
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Do electrons have some volume, area or shape?
I am in 8th grade now and when I was in 6th grade, my science book had diagrams of the electronic configuration of atoms. The electrons were round like spherical balls. Is it true that the electrons have some volume, area or shape and they revolve…
Jimgao
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Difference in the functioning of alkaline and acidified KMnO4
What is the difference in the functioning of alkaline and acidified $\ce{KMnO4}$ as a reagent in organic chemistry?
E.g., in the oxidation of a primary alcohol to carboxylic acid, we use acidified $\ce{KMnO4}$ and not alkaline $\ce{KMnO4}$. Why?
Apurv
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Why is cyclooctateraene shaped like a "tub" rather than a "chair"?
I understand that for cyclooctatetraene (COT) to "escape" the horrible prospect of becoming an anti-aromatic molecule, it must adopt a non-planar conformation.
The widely touted conformation of COT is said to be "tub" shaped. My sources (random…
paracetamol
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What happens to gunpowder when it gets wet?
What happens to the gunpowder and other explosives when they get wet? I know that they stop "working" (won't explode anymore) but for what reason? Is it anyhow similar to the fact, that wet wood is burning worse than the dry one?
Sára Melounová
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