Edexcel A-Level Chem Paper 2 Advanced Organic and Physical Chemistry [Exam Chat]

Depends on the question.

For questions where it tells you to draw the structures of both enantiomers, I used to start by drawing a vertical line to act as a ‘mirror’ and on one side, draw the structure of one enantiomer. I’d then draw the reflected structure on the other side of the mirror. Two of the four bonds from the chiral carbon should be solid, straight lines, one should be a hatched line and the fourth bond should be a solid wedge.

Depends on the question.

For questions where it tells you to draw the structures of both enantiomers, I used to start by drawing a vertical line to act as a ‘mirror’ and on one side, draw the structure of one enantiomer. I’d then draw the reflected structure on the other side of the mirror. Two of the four bonds from the chiral carbon should be solid, straight lines, one should be a hatched line and the fourth bond should be a solid wedge.

For those questions, they won't penalize you if for example in the MS the OH is the group on the top and the H is the wedge directly below when they've placed it the other way round right?

In Friedel Crafts Acylation, can any acyl chloride be used as the reagent? All the examples use ethanoyl chloride and Chemrevise notes state that the change in functional group is to a phenyl ketone, which is only correct if it's ethanoyl chloride, no?

The only way you can make phenyl aldehydes by Friedel-Crafts acylation is by using methanoyl chloride (which isn’t stable, so it’d have to be made in situ but I digress) as the acyl chloride. Any other acyl chloride will work and will produce a phenyl ketone, as the C=O group will be sandwiched between the arene and the rest of the carbon chain.

So would you have to draw the phenyl ketone with the CO directly attached to the arene (i.e. you can't write —CH3CO off the ring)?

The C=O is always bound directly to the arene by a C-C bond.

Whether there is -CH3 group also bound to the C=O group by a C-C bond or not depends on which acyl chloride is used. If the acyl chloride used was propanoyl chloride, for example, you’d have a -COCH2CH3 group bound to the arene.

Does anyone the conditions for carbonyl —> hydroxynitrile using kcn and excess hcn. The reaction pathways i revise from either dont mention anything, or say dilute or conc h2so4...

I've got room temp, pressure and H2SO4 written down (not sure if it's concentrated or dilute)

Do we need to know how to draw the transition state for the SN2 mechanism of a primary halogenoalkane?

Praying this paper won’t be like the last one

which topics carry the most marks on this paper…?

These 7 mark synthesis questions are going to ruin me. I have no clue what to do. Even when I have the pathways in front of me I’m still lost. They might as well just take 7 marks off of my paper at the beginning. Any advice for dealing with synthesis?