[Argon]

[quote="con Brio":34a7b]Argon,

how can one easily tell apart if a rxn is to be Sn1, Sn2, E1, or E2???? I get those all mixed up. oOo: thx[/quote:34a7b]


I am a 5th year graduate student "hopefully" getting my Ph.D this may in Organic polymer chemistry.

Substitution, is just that you substitute one group for another.
ie nucleophilic displacement of a halogen(Br, I) by nucleophile(OH-, CN-)

Elimination is removing something (usually H, by a Base) to form an unsaturated double or triple bond.
ie the removal of an Acidic proton followed by Beta elimination of some sort of leaving group to give an unsaturated bond.

1 vs 2. 1 means that it is a step-wise reaction, ie A happens then B happens (Not at the same time). 2 means that they happen simultaneously. Their are many factors that favor 1st order or 2 nd order reaction rates (the are too numerous to mention here) but it has to do with stability of the leaving group, solvent polarity, stability of the formed Ionic species, etc..

Ok email or PM met, it might be easier than putting everyone else through Organic 101. Its also a lot easier if you can see the reactions on the paper instead of someone explaining. I have some good tutorials that I use with my undergrads I can send along.