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....

29m

The Soviet Bloc Unwinds: Crash Course European History #46

In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, protests and unrest continued continued across Europe, and the Soviet Union was having increasing trouble holding its sphere of influence together. Today you'll learn about the labor strikes of Poland, the dissident punks of East Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the breakup of the Soviet Union, among...

2w

Alkanes: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #6

Alkanes are kind of the wallflowers of organic chemistry, but they still have important functions in the world around us. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry we’re building our knowledge of organic molecules by learning all about these so called couch potatoes from how they are separated from crude oil to how to use Newman projections...

2w

Protests East and West: Crash Course European History #45

The post-World War II decades in Europe are sometimes called the Thirty Glorious Years. As those years wore on, tensions between East and West grew, and economic growth slowed or was unevenly distributed across Europe, protests and dissent arose across the continent. Sources: -Bolton, Jonathan. Worlds of Dissent: Charter 77, The Plastic People...

3w

IR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #5

It’s time for molecular analysis! On this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’re learning about mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy through the lens of a forensic investigation. Put on your lab coats, and let’s solve this mystery! Episode Sources: Silverstein, R. M., Webster, F. X., Kiemle, D. J., & Bryce, D. L (2007). Spectrometric...

5w

Revolutions in Science and Tech: Crash Course European History #44

In the decades following World War II, life changed in many ways, and a fair number of those changes were for the better. Many of those improvements were driven by advances in science and technology, in fields like biology, communication, energy production, space exploration, and especially medicine. Sources -Harvey, Brian. Russian Planetary Exploration:...

Jun 2020

3D Structure and Bonding: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #4

The organic molecules that make up life on Earth are more than just the 2-D structures we’ve been drawing so far. Molecules have 3-D shapes that help us understand what they can do. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’ll learn how orbital hybridization and valence bond theory can help us explain 3D molecular structures and about constitutional...

May 2020

More Organic Nomenclature: Heteroatom Functional Groups: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #3

Oxygen is pretty dang amazing! Some of the most intensely studied functional groups in organic chemistry have oxygen atoms. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we're building on the last episode's discussion of nomenclature by learning about IUPAC's naming rules for even more functional groups. RE-UPLOAD: There was an error in the graphic...

May 2020

Decolonization: Crash Course European History #43

After World War II, Europe was changing radically, and its place in the world was changing as well. European powers had colonized around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the 20th century, it all came crashing down. Of course the degree of crashing was variable from country to country. Sources -Buettner, Elizabeth. Europe After Empire:...

May 2020

More Organic Nomenclature: Heteroatom Functional Groups: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #3

Oxygen is pretty dang amazing! Some of the most intensely studied functional groups in organic chemistry have oxygen atoms. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we're building on the last episode's discussion of nomenclature by learning about IUPAC's naming rules for even more functional groups. Episode Sources: Lambert, J. B., Traces...

May 2020