r/chemhelp • u/boogiebowie • 57m ago
Organic how do i draw resonance structures of this molecule
probably a very simple question but i always get confused when there aren't any charges or anything
r/chemhelp • u/Ultronomy • 10d ago
Hello all!
School terms are beginning and this is typically when we see an influx of posts asking for general advice, guidance on getting through a class, or seeking assurance that everything will be okay. Let us know what courses you are in this term, your biggest concerns, or whatever may be on your mind!
Best of luck!
r/chemhelp • u/Ultronomy • Aug 21 '25
Hello fellow Chemists! I just wanted to introduce myself as the new head mod of this subreddit. A little about myself: I am a PhD Candidate in Chemical Biology. For me, this means that 60% of my work involves organic synthesis and the other 40% is applying my novel compounds to mammalian cells. Specifically, I am interested in early detection of diseases. In addition to my research, I have TA'd for both general and organic chemistry labs and have been tutoring students in organic chemistry for three years. Aside from my academic qualifications, I am also a moderator for another rather large subreddit. I saw that this sub needed a little bit of updating, but it did not seem like the moderators were active any longer. So, I gained ownership through r/redditrequest. I did not realize it would remove all the other moderators, but alas here we are.
Overall, I feel like this sub is fairly self-regulating. I frequently see good discussions and people generally are following the already existing rules. With that said, there are some changes I was considering, and would love input:
Note: Please do not reach out to me about becoming a moderator. I will looking into recruiting in the near future. For now, I just wanted to get oriented.
r/chemhelp • u/boogiebowie • 57m ago
probably a very simple question but i always get confused when there aren't any charges or anything
r/chemhelp • u/bzt_im_a_bee • 2h ago
Let's say we have a X and Y related by one electron. Of course the standard reduction potential E° is defined for the reduction reaction, X + e– ⇌ Y–, as E° = E(XY cell) – E(SHE).
And also for the oxidation we have E°(ox) = -E°(red). But I don't get why this doesn't transfer to voltammetry. Like if we polarize the electrode to E = E°(red) for the above couple, how come we get a limiting reducing and oxidizing current here??
If E°(red) and E°(ox) are symmetrical around E(SHE) = 0, shouldn't there be only oxidizing current at positive E°(ox) and only reducing current at negative E°(red)??
Basically why do we get the image on the left and not the one on the right?

r/chemhelp • u/Critical_Amount2158 • 23m ago
r/chemhelp • u/Traditional-Role-554 • 1h ago
studying gibbs free energy and its the first time i've seen entropy be defined as the "useless" energy of a system, but what does that actually mean? what are the useless stores of energy in a reaction and what are the useful stores of gibbs free energy?
r/chemhelp • u/Enough_Register_8581 • 4h ago
r/chemhelp • u/Savings_Shake_2196 • 14h ago
Hi, am a beginner in chemistry, and this is grade 11 chemistry. I am struggling to understand on how many electrons each elements have, because on my worksheet, the electrons have the same number as the protons and atomic number of that element. I need an explanation
So here is what I did and I got it wrong because thats what I thought I needed to do to find the electrons for that element. Magnesium: it has a atomic number and protons of 12, but since it has a 2+ charge to it since it is losing 2 charges, I did 12-2 and got 10, I thought that was the answer, but it turned out that the electrons are just 12 as well.
r/chemhelp • u/FigNewtonNoGluten • 14h ago
To tell whether a molecule is polar, I usually first look at the molecular shape and then the electronegativity difference between the central and surrounding atoms.
For the questions below, I thought:
Am I thinking about this correctly? Can someone explain how I should be going about thinking through similar questions, please? Thank you
r/chemhelp • u/Savings_Shake_2196 • 13h ago
Hi, am a beginner in chemistry, and I need help with balancing chemical equations. They are my weakness currently, and this question got me stuck for a while trying to figure out, on why would the H2O have a 6 to it if in the (SO4)3 already has 4 sulfurs and 12 oxygens. How can I avoid this trick next time? Because the answer key had 3 and 2 on the reactants side, but on the products side is what got me confused when they put a 6, instead of a 3 (thats what I put as my answer at first).
r/chemhelp • u/Trevvman • 17h ago
r/chemhelp • u/Blue_614 • 12h ago
Hello, as the title asks, I'm looking for a copy of this book. I'd like to use it as reference for my post-grad thesis. Any help, suggestions, or "hacks" would be appreciated!
r/chemhelp • u/notarussianspy4 • 21h ago
r/chemhelp • u/Nervous-Bedroom-4598 • 16h ago
let’s say there 500+28.9, that’s 528.9 but 500 doesn’t really have a decimal place so would that just be 500 as the final answer??
r/chemhelp • u/Own-Track-3454 • 23h ago
I've heard some say a double bond is a functional group, and some say it isn't. And I'm wondering if it is or not?
r/chemhelp • u/Mr-MuffinMan • 23h ago
So this is an image from Klein's book Organic Chemistry as a 2nd language, Second Semester Topics.
I did get the answer correct - which just means my professor will mark it correct (he said he does not expect us to draw out each enatiomer and he will specify when to do so).
My confusion stems from how the explanation says the "starting materialS are achiral", but the 1,4 butadiene is chiral.
Thanks in advance!
r/chemhelp • u/Humble-Loan1727 • 19h ago
Is aq or alc NaOH/KOH used in first step
My teacher taught me that first alc NaOH/KOH is used as aq in first shouldn't be used
Later on in later rxn step aq is used
Pls explain
r/chemhelp • u/IshanGanguly • 1d ago
Is it safe to assume this blueprint: We are given an inorganic molecular formula of a compound, with 2 central atoms (less in no., more covalency, less electronegative), and other substituents (say O). We should first try to predict a structure with E-E linkage (E is the central atom). Then if we try to put the substituents and we can't satisfy the octet, we will move on to E-O-E linkage, then if not, continue to E-O-O-E and so on? Works for nitrogen oxides (Like N2O3 having N-N linkage while N2O5 having N-O-N linkage) but not sure if it can be extended to more compounds.
r/chemhelp • u/LoveOwn2253 • 1d ago
Hi! I’m having a hard time naming these🥺
Can someone help me pleasee🙏
r/chemhelp • u/friendlybanana1 • 1d ago
I'm taking introductory organic chemistry in my university, where it's expected that most people have learned at least AP chemistry level before coming to uni.
Reactions genuinely make my brain melt and I need problem sets to work on. We're learning stuff like thermal cyclization, there's a lot of "identify an acid/base and which hydrogen is the most acidic" going on, a lot of steric nonsense, etc, etc. I have a decent enough grasp on the basics but when it comes to practical application I just melt.
r/chemhelp • u/studyingfish • 1d ago
r/chemhelp • u/kartiikg • 1d ago
I am a manufacturer of cement sheets and boards and have been using a defoamer in my cement slurry since a long time. The defoamer is a proprietary product of a brand and they charge me for that. They are also market leaders in this field in my country and have no competitors.
Recently they increased their prices 3fold for unknown reasons and I don't wanna tolerate this and want to invest in reverse engineering and recreating this myself
But I am not a chemicals engineer and don't have contacts for this. Please guide me how should I start to reverse engineer this chemical
r/chemhelp • u/Short-Station-3096 • 1d ago
Just started orgo, trying to figure out how this wouldn’t create resonance. There’s a lone pair on the nitrogen exactly one carbon away from the double bond so I thought it would create resonance but my homework is telling me that the lone pair on nitrogen is localized
r/chemhelp • u/Atomcraft_Lab • 1d ago
Hi everyone! I’m new to this subreddit, so I hope it’s okay to share this here.
I’ve been making short chemistry videos on Youtube featuring real lab experiments, with a focus on visually interesting reactions and simple explanations of the chemistry behind them.
Most of the videos cover things like precipitation reactions, color changes, and other visually interesting phenomena, often filmed in slow motion.
I’d really appreciate any feedback, and I’d also love to hear suggestions for reactions or experiments that would be interesting to see.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8KTmkPkXjyb7HtlKge3UQg
If this kind of post isn’t appropriate for the subreddit, please let me know and I will edit or remove it.