Cyclohexanes: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #7

Hexagons appear all over the natural world from honeycomb to bubbles, and they even appear in organic chemistry! In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’re learning all about cyclohexanes, including how rings pucker to relieve strain, the boat and chair conformations, and how ring flips can switch substituents from axial to equatorial. We’ll practice a lot of chair flips, but don’t flip an actual chair just yet! Lots of practice is key to understanding organic chemistry’s favorite manifestation of the hexagon.

Episode Sources:
Philip Ball, Why Nature Prefers Hexagons: The geometric rules behind fly eyes, honeycombs and soap bubbles. Nautilus, 2016., Last accessed 1/26/2020. nautil.us/issue/35/boundaries/why-nature-prefers-hexagons
References within: Kashyap Vyas, Why is the hexagon everywhere? All about this seemingly common shape. https://interestingengineering.com/why-is-the-hexagon-everywhere-all-about-this-seemingly-common-shape. Last access 1/26/2020.

Calculation of Ring Strain In Cycloalkanes

Series Sources:
Brown, W. H., Iverson, B. L., Ansyln, E. V., Foote, C., Organic Chemistry; 8th ed.; Cengage Learning, Boston, 2018.
Bruice, P. Y., Organic Chemistry, 7th ed.; Pearson Education, Inc., United States, 2014.
Clayden, J., Greeves, N., Warren., S., Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Oxford University Press, New York, 2012.
Jones Jr., M.; Fleming, S. A., Organic Chemistry, 5th ed.; W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2014.
Klein., D., Organic Chemistry; 1st ed.; John Wiley & Sons, United States, 2012.
Louden M., Organic Chemistry; 5th ed.; Roberts and Company Publishers, Colorado, 2009.
McMurry, J., Organic Chemistry, 9th ed.; Cengage Learning, Boston, 2016.
Smith, J. G., Organic chemistry; 6th ed.; McGraw-Hill Education, New York, 2020.
Wade., L. G., Organic Chemistry; 8th ed.; Pearson Education, Inc., United States, 2013.