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CHEM 171 Library Resources for Freshman Organic Chemistry I: Properties & Spectra

Strategies

  • Search compound by name if you have it.  Some compounds have more than one name, ex. ethanol
  • Put molecular formulas in "hill order": Carbons first, then hydrogens, and then all other elements alphabetically.  With some databases, capitalization does count.
  • Chemical Abstract Registry number is like a social security number for a compound and is a very precise way to search.
  • Many resources have both property and spectra information.
  • Your boiling point may be higher or lower (+/- 5 degrees) than the literature values.
  • Notice the technique and instrumentation that is used for obtaining spectra.  Does it match yours?  If not, what differences between spectra would you expect?

Finding Properties

Finding Spectra