Skip to main content
Chemistry LibreTexts

7.0 Unit Preview & Unit Objectives

  • Page ID
    44295
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    This, the first of two units devoted to the chemistry of alkenes, begins by describing the natural occurrence of certain alkenes, and then shows the industrial importance of the two simplest members of this family: ethylene and propylene. The electronic structure of alkenes is reviewed, and their nomenclature discussed in detail. After dealing with the question of cis-trans isomerism in alkenes, Unit 7 provides a general introduction to the reactivity of the carbon-carbon double bond. Finally, the unit focuses on one specific reaction, the addition of hydrogen halides to alkenes, using it to introduce a number of important concepts, including carbocation stability and the Hammond postulate.

    Unit Objectives

    After you have completed Unit 7, you should be able to

    1. fulfill all of the detailed objectives listed under each individual section.
    2. describe the importance of alkenes to the chemical industry.
    3. use the concept of “degree of unsaturation” in determining chemical structures.
    4. describe the electronic structure and geometry of alkenes.
    5. describe the factors that influence alkene stability, and determine the relative stability of a number of given alkenes.
    6. write the IUPAC name of a given alkene, and draw the structure of any alkene, given its IUPAC name.
    7. determine whether a given alkene has an E configuration or a Z configuration.
    8. explain why alkenes are more reactive than alkanes.
    9. describe the reaction between an alkene and a hydrogen halide, and explain why one product is formed rather than another, basing your explanation on the concept of carbocation stability and the Hammond postulate.
    10. define, and use in context, the key terms introduced in this unit.

    Contributors


    7.0 Unit Preview & Unit Objectives is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?