1.6.1. Curved Arrow Notation
- Page ID
- 32286
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After completing this section, you should be able to use curved (curly) arrows, in conjunction with a chemical equation, to show the movement of electron pairs in a simple polar reaction, such as electrophilic addition.
Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key terms below.
- electrophilic
- nucleophilic
Pushing Electrons and Curly Arrows
Understanding the location of electrons and being able to draw the curly arrows that depict the mechanisms by which the reactions occur is one of the most critical tools for learning organic chemistry since they allow you to understand what controls reactions, and how reactions proceed.
Before you can do this you need to understand that a bond is due to a pair of electrons between atoms.
When asked to draw a MECHANISM, curly arrows should be used to show ALL the BONDING changes that occur.
A few simple lessons
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Curly Arrow Summary 
- Curly arrows
flow from electron rich to electron poor.
- Therefore they start from lone pairs or bonds.
- The charges in any particular step should always be balanced.
- Remember to obey the rules of valence (eg. octet rule for C,N,O,F etc.)
- If electrons are taken out of a bond, then that bond is broken.
- If electrons are placed between two atoms then it implies a bond is being made.
Exercises
Draw arrows for the following reactions.
- Answer
-
Contributors and Attributions
- Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary
Dr. Dietmar Kennepohl FCIC (Professor of Chemistry, Athabasca University)
Prof. Steven Farmer (Sonoma State University)
Additional Resources
Slide Presentations
Presentation on Curved Arrow notation
Web Pages
Curved arrow notation in acid-base reactions
Curved arrows "electron pushing"
Videos
Video on curved arrow notation
Tutorial
Curved arrow notation tutorial
Practice Problems