Brønsted-Lowry acid
compound that can donate a proton to another compound in solution
Brønsted-Lowry base
compound that can accept a proton from another compound in solution
carbocation
positively charged carbon with three bonds and no lone pairs
curved arrow
arrow that indicates the direction or movement of the electrons in a reaction
electron pushing
flow of electrons from an electron-rich site to an electron-poor site
electrophile
molecule or ion that accepts electrons to form a covalent bond
functional group
group of atoms with specific physical, chemical, and reactivity properties
heterolytic cleavage
a covalent bond that breaks and both electrons of the bond go with one atom and the other atom is left with none
homolytic cleavage
a covalent bond that breaks and each atom in the bond gets one electron from the bond breaking
initiation step
step in a radical reaction where a covalent bond breaks and produces two radical species
inorganic chemistry
discipline of chemistry that studies nonorganic (without carbon) compounds
leaving group
functional group that is able to leave a compound and usually forms a stable (weak) species
Lewis acid
electron-pair acceptor in a Lewis acid-base reaction
Lewis base
electron-pair donor in a Lewis acid-base reaction
mechanistic step
step in a reaction mechanism. The four mechanistic steps are proton transfer, nucleophilic attack, loss of a leaving group, and rearrangement.
nucleophile
molecule or ion rich in electrons that donates a pair of electrons that forms a covalent bond
organic chemistry
discipline of chemistry that studies carbons and its compounds
propagation step
step in a radical chain reaction where a reactive free radical reacts with a stable molecule to form a new free radical
radical
reactive species with one or more unpaired electrons
reaction mechanism
exact step or steps required to convert reactants into products
tautomerism
chemical equilibrium between a ketone or aldehyde and an enol
termination step
step in a radical reaction where two radicals combine to form a covalent bond and no new radicals are formed