So I have had a couple muddiest points thus far... Electromagnetic radiation is really confusing. I cant really grasp the understanding of the equations but i found information on Wikipedia that can provide me assistance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation).
Also I cant figure out how you are supposed to match a compound to a given mass spectrum. With more reading i have found out that you have to look at each of the wavelengths and the peaks to determine which compound is which.
I am not 100 percent sure about the base points and highest points of individual mass spectra. I found a great website that explains this little by little. (http://www.chemguide.co.uk/analysis/masspec/fragment.html#top)
I think with more studying and reading i will be prepared for this test hopefully.
A tip for reading a mass spectrum is using the molecular ion to determine the molecular weight of the compound. That helps figure out how many carbon and hydrogen atoms there are. I liked that you found websites to help you understand the things you are unclear about. I agree that studying and practicing well help prepare us all.
ReplyDeleteyep, this organic sure is tough. i'm having trouble with it too. great sites by the way, thanks! and Esanders22, your comments are really helpful. all you gotta do is read your text book and work through examples in the book and look carefully at how it goes about solving the problem.
ReplyDeletegood luck in the test!
The mass spec can be hard to understand at first however, what has helped me is in mass spec i like to look for the M+ peak which is usually the last peak on the right side of the spectrum; this peak is known as the molar mass of the compound. M/Z is the x-axis of a mass spectrum. Once you have the molar mass you can then determine the empirical formula. Another tip to remember is when you are looking at the peaks hydrocarbons like methane and hexane as well as compounds with C, H, and O atoms always contain a molecular ion with an even mass.
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