I know I have a lot of things I say I am going to write about, and believe me, I am writing about them. I am just not writing about them here.

I’ve undertaken a dramatic change in my lifestyle, I don’t go out, I stay home, I study and research a lot of stuff online, I take drugs (prescription, of course), and I rest. I have a lot of deadlines to meet that I place on myself, no one was holding a gun to my head and said “Take 6 courses, it’ll be easy”.

The numbers that I have before the Title indicate the order that I learned about these topics, and no I am no going to post them in order. When I started the semester, a lot had to be changed in regards to my habits, my attitudes toward myself and others, as well as my organizational aptitude and use of technology. I find that I will only learn where I need to pick up the slack best, only when I stress myself, otherwise I will just fall back into what feels comfortable.

It’s probably not only me, and you should try to do this yourself.

Electrons move between molecules, and they form various bonds. For example, Hydrogen has 1 electron in it’s valence shell, and because the atom has only an s atomic orbital, it needs one more so it can fill that shell. (if you’re confused, don’t worry I’ll post the earlier content later, for now just utilize google to define “atomic orbitals” and “valence shell”)

Oxygen has 6 valence electrons, which means that it has something other than an s atomic orbital. Water, as we know is H₂0, so oxygen forms 2 bonds to 2 hydrogens. Leaving oxygen with a total of 8 valence electrons, which completes its octet, and having hydrogen with 2 valence electrons each, filling it’s atomic orbital and everyone is happy, as far as I can tell. Do note that there is 2 lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen, however the formal charge on a water molecule is still zero. (I wonder if that is why water makes a great solvent)

If we had a lone oxygen, with it’s 6 valence electrons, next to two hydrogens with with their 1 valence electrons, and we wanted to show the movement of electrons, I could do so with curved arrows! A curved arrow is used show the movement of electrons to and from a molecule, the arrow starts at the pair of electrons, and then ends (points_ toward where the electrons are going. Using the same example as before, where we had the two hydrogens (do you think the hydrogens would bond to each other, and how much attractive force would be needed to break that bond and steal the hydrogen?)

These are the rules that occur in organic reaction analysis,

1. Electrons flow at or near functional groups
2. Arrows show the formation and breaking (sometimes called cleaving) of bonds.
3. Use arrows to keep track of formal charges

Formal charges are actually really simple, movement away from a molecule increase the formal charge by one, and the point where the arrow tip lands (points to) decreases by one. You’re losing and gaining a pair of electrons, not so hard now is it?

I have actually created a whole bunch of articles already, revolving around the basics, and resonance; speaking of resonance, on my exam I got a whole 1.5 points out of a possible10 for the question on resonance. My brain is screaming because I rarely take breaks, and it’s kind of damaged and needs rest. During my exam I am allowed to take breaks, but I have some problem here I don’t want to be seen as weak, or not able. Now that I am saying that out loud, I realize how stupid that sounds.