Master mechanism

Mechanisms are your key to success in this course. If you can master the mechanisms, you will do very well in this class. If you don t master mechanisms, you will do poorly in this class. What are mechanisms and why are they so important ... 

Going over the basics and mechanisms of nucleophilic substitution reactions Mastering mechanisms of elimination/addition reactions Determining synthesis strategies for aromatic systems... 

The crucial step in the development of unimolecular theory was the postulate of a time lag between the activation and reaction steps in the master mechanism for all elementary reactions given in Chapter 1. During this time an activated molecule can either be deactivated in a deactivating energy transfer collision, or it can alter configuration to reach the critical configuration and react. All elementary reactions involve three steps, two energy transfer steps and one reaction step, and for unimolecular reactions... 

Unique to this text is the concept of mechanisms being built from a limited number of elementary electron flow pathways, and the concept that learning to assemble these pathways in a reasonable manner is all that is necessary to master mechanisms in organic chemistry. The impressive advantage that a decision-based approach has over memorization is that it engages the student. The instructor can ask questions like, Why did it go this way and not that way New reactions become puzzles to solve, not simply more items to memorize. 

Anonymous (1888). The career of Edward Marsland, master mechanic and steam engineer. The Newtown Register (Feb.9) 8. 

Industry, however, needed power. The flooding of mines, for example, becomes a serious problem as the available horses are not sufficient to remove the water. Attention to the whole problem of steam and its practical use is becoming more rigorous, and King Charles II creates the post of Master Mechanic to the Royal Household. It is in this atmosphere that the development of the steam engine, outlined in Table 4.2, took place. 

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