Functional Groups
Chemistry Teachers
Solvent "D"esign
Fixin' Your Elements
Fictional Elements
200
Formic acid is the simplest form of this functional group, which reacts with weak bases to form a resonance-stabilized conjugate
Carboxylic acid
200
This irascible wizard taught the magical equivalent of chemistry to Harry Potter
Severus Snape
200
It was one of the first gaseous general anesthetics and has the following structure:
Diethyl ether
200
The lightest element isn't Helium, but this one in the upper left corner of the periodic table
Hydrogen
200
Water, Earth, Fire, and this make up the four classical elements in a celebrated Nickelodeon cartoon series
Air
400
This group is unusually stable and is typically modified via electrophilic aromatic substitution
Phenyl/benzyl
400
He's Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's assistant, shown here:
Beaker
400
Drug candidates are often dissolved in this organosulfur compound, whose low toxicity and amphiphilicity make it an excellent water-miscible solvent
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)
400
Tu isn't the symbol for Tungsten - instead, it's this, from German etymology
W
400
Wolverine's claws are made of this element, not C10H16
Adamantium
600
This functional group can be reduced to an alkane by reaction with hydrazine and high heat
Ketone
600
The face of "Periodic Videos" on YouTube is this elderly University of Nottingham chemist, who was recently awarded a knighthood
Sir Martyn Poliakoff
600
The "1,4" is often dropped from this compound's proper name since its other isomers are rare, and it finds use as an aprotic water-miscible solvent
Dioxane
600
Of the four elements named for Ytterby, Sweden, it's the one with the shortest symbol
Yttrium (Y)
600
In Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn", burning this "god metal" allows users to see a few seconds into the future
Atium
800
These excellent nucleophiles form the basis of most peptide synthesis reactions
Amines
800
"Science Rules": this Cornell alum hosted a show and taught us that "inertia is a property of matter"
Bill Nye
800
Its high density and low polarity makes it a common choice for organic extractions, including decaffeination of coffee
Dichloromethane (DCM)
800
Iron doesn't have the lowest melting point of any metal, this toxic element does
Mercury
800
It's the metal that forms Captain America's shield and powers Wakanda
Vibranium
1000
A cyclic form of this functional group is the lactone, which reacts with LiAlH4 to form a diol
Ester
1000
Walter White taught high school chemistry at J. P. Wynne High School in this city
Albuquerque, New Mexico
1000
Hydrolysis of this high boiling point solvent can result in a fishy smell, and its polarity facilitates SN2 reactions nicely
Dimethylformamide (DMF)
1000
Marie Curie discovered this radioactive element in 1898, not uranium
Polonium
1000
It's the McGuffin element human miners are seeking in James Cameron's "Avatar"
Unobtanium