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Chemistry Revision Guides
A-Level Revise Aid: This resource is designed to support your revision and may contain errors. If you find a discrepancy with your class teaching, your teacher is correct -- please let us know at alevelrevise@scott.scottrix.co.uk.

Organic Chemistry

Year 1 / ASYear 2 / A-Level All Boards (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, CCEA) AQA

A-Level Chemistry revision: Organic Chemistry. Learning objectives, key points, worked examples and practice questions across AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA.

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📌 Key Points

Key Fact: IUPAC: longest chain, number for lowest locants, prefixes for substituents, suffix for functional group
Key Fact: Mechanisms: curly arrows show electron pair movement; SN1: carbocation intermediate (3 deg > 2 deg > 1 deg ); SN2: concerted backside attack (1 deg favoured)
Key Fact: Markovnikov: H adds to carbon with more H's (forms more stable carbocation)
Key Fact: Oxidation: 1 deg alcohol -> aldehyde -> carboxylic acid; 2 deg -> ketone; 3 deg resistant
Key Fact: Esters: RCOOR'; formed from acid + alcohol (conc H₂SO₄); hydrolysis: acid or base (saponification)
Key Fact: IR: C=O ~1700, O-H ~3300, C-H ~2900 cm⁻¹; MS: M⁺ peak, fragmentation pattern
Key Fact: Retrosynthesis: work backwards from target; identify disconnections; choose reagents

🎯 Learning Objectives

  • Name and draw structural formulae for alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, halogenoalkanes, carbonyls, carboxylic acids, esters, amines, amides
  • Understand reaction mechanisms: free radical substitution, electrophilic addition, nucleophilic substitution (SN1/SN2), elimination, nucleophilic addition, oxidation/reduction
  • Apply Markovnikov's rule and understand carbocation stability
  • Distinguish primary, secondary, tertiary alcohols and their oxidation products
  • Understand esterification, hydrolysis, and uses of esters
  • Use IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry for structure determination
  • Plan multi-step syntheses using retrosynthetic analysis

💡 Worked Example

Exam-Style Question

Question: Propose a mechanism for the reaction of 2-methylpropene with HBr

Model Answer:

Electrophilic addition. H⁺ adds to less substituted C (Markovnikov) -> more stable 3 deg carbocation (CH₃)₃C⁺. Br⁻ attacks carbocation -> 2-bromo-2-methylpropane. Curly arrows: pi bond to H, H-Br bond to Br

❓ Practice Questions

Questions:

  • Name: CH₃CH₂CH(OH)CH₃
  • Mechanism for SN2 hydrolysis of CH₃CH₂Br with OH⁻
  • Product of oxidation of CH₃CH₂CH₂OH with acidified K₂Cr₂O₇
  • IR peaks for CH₃COOH
  • Retrosynthesis of CH₃CH₂COOCH₂CH₃ from simple precursors

🎬 Video Resources

📄 Past Papers & Exam Resources

🔗 Further Reading & Resources