Course

AS Chemistry: Organic Synthesis and Evidence (9701)

Name: AS Chemistry: Organic Synthesis and Evidence (9701)
Price: 1499 BDT

Prove which compound you have before you name it: the carbonyl that two families share, the tests that separate them, and the reactions that build one functional group from another.

25 lessons2h 28mEnglish

What you'll learn

Recognise the carbonyl group shared by aldehydes and ketones, and say what it alone proves
Choose a test that separates an aldehyde from a ketone, and justify why it works on one only
Separate two ketones with the tri-iodomethane test, and say what a positive result does NOT prove
Predict the product of reducing or adding to a carbonyl group, with reagent and conditions
Explain acid strength from the stability of the ion formed, not from the strength of the O-H bond
Name an ester from its two reactants, and predict the products of acid and of alkaline hydrolysis
Plan a multi-step synthesis by working backwards from the target and counting carbons first
Give reagents AND conditions for every step, and calculate an overall yield from the step yields
Read a relative molecular mass off a mass spectrum, and name a halogen from its isotope pattern
Identify a functional group from the infrared bands present AND the expected bands that are absent
Choose between ammonia and cyanide routes by checking whether the carbon count must stay fixed or rise by one
Build an addition-polymer repeat unit from an alkene and reverse a repeat unit to recover its monomer
Explain polymer disposal consequences from the bonds and atoms present in the chain

Requirements

AS organic language, functional groups and the oxidation of alcohols

Course content

25 lessons · 2h 28m

17.1 · Carbonyl compounds: the group two families share

One carbonyl group, two families, and a reagent that proves the group without separating them. Then the reactions that move a carbonyl up and down the oxidation ladder.

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The carbonyl two families share

Brady's reagent proves a carbonyl and stops there. Find the mild oxidising agent that separates an aldehyde from a ketone.

Preview8m 2.

Reactions of the carbonyl group

Reduce a carbonyl to the matching class of alcohol, then add hydrogen cyanide to lengthen the carbon chain by one.

Preview8m

The tri-iodomethane test

The one test in the syllabus that separates two compounds of the same functional group, because it reads the carbonyl group's neighbour.

Carbonyl compounds: exam question

One structured Paper 2 question across identification, the structural reason only one oxidises, and a mass calculation.

18.1-18.2 · Carboxylic acids and esters

Two molecules with an O-H bond and only one of them acidic. Then the ester that acid makes, why the yield is limited, and why one hydrolysis is complete and the other is not.

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Carboxylic acids and their salts

Delocalisation over two oxygens is what makes a carboxyl group acidic, and the carbonate test is the only one of the three you can see.

Preview8m 2.

Esters and their uses

Make an ester at equilibrium, name it from its two reactants, and break it back with acid or with alkali to different products.

Preview8m

Acyl chlorides

The most reactive acid derivative: every reaction is vigorous, needs no catalyst, and goes to completion because the HCl escapes.

Carboxylic acids and esters: exam question

One structured Paper 2 question across acid strength, ester naming, alkaline hydrolysis and a percentage yield.

21.1 · Organic synthesis: planning a route

Functional groups as places and reagents as roads. Work backwards from the target, count the carbons first, and give the conditions that carry half the marks.

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Reading the reaction map

Work backwards from the target, state conditions as well as reagents, and see why yields multiply rather than average.

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Changing the chain length

Only cyanide changes the number of carbon atoms, so a target of a different size constrains the route before any reagent is chosen.

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Organic synthesis: exam question

One structured Paper 2 question across a three-step route, its conditions, and the multiplication of yields.

22.1-22.2 · Analytical techniques: identifying an unknown

Read a relative molecular mass off a mass spectrum, name a halogen from its isotope pattern, and identify a functional group from the infrared bands that are present and the ones that are not.

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Mass spectrometry

The molecular ion is the peak furthest right, not the tallest. Differences between peaks name the fragments lost.

Preview8m 2.

Infrared spectroscopy

An axis that runs backwards, absorptions that are troughs, and a flat region that rules out two whole families.

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Analytical techniques: exam question

One structured Paper 2 question identifying an unknown from a mass spectrum and an infrared trace together.

19.1-19.2 · Nitrogen compounds: routes that add carbon

Make a primary amine without changing the carbon count, then use cyanide as the one-carbon bridge to nitriles, hydroxynitriles and carboxylic acids.

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Primary amines from halogenoalkanes

Replace a halogen with NH2 using excess ammonia, and explain why excess ammonia suppresses further substitution.

Preview7m 2.

The cyanide one-carbon bridge

Choose substitution or addition, track the cyanide carbon, then hydrolyse the nitrile to a carboxylic acid.

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Nitrogen compounds: exam question

A short Paper 2 route question testing reagents, conditions, carbon counting and nitrile hydrolysis.

20.1 · Addition polymers: open, repeat, reverse

Open an alkene double bond to build a repeat unit, reverse a polymer fragment to recover its monomer, and diagnose disposal problems from the backbone and substituents.

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From monomer to repeat unit and back

Perform addition polymerisation instead of copying it: open C=C, preserve substituents and show continuation bonds.

Preview8m 2.

Why addition polymers persist

Read the carbon backbone to explain non-biodegradability, then predict why burning PVC needs emission control.

Preview7m

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