Clayden Preface and Ch.1: What is Organic Chemistry?

Preface: How to learn Organic Chemistry?

We should focus on the following points:

• Structure determination: Finding the structure of a new organic compound even if we cannot see it.
• Theoretical part: From the perspective of atoms, electrons, and bonds.
• Reaction mechanism: How do atoms react with each other? The mechanism behind it, and how to use that understanding to predict reactions.
• Synthesis: After the theoretical part and reaction mechanisms, designing molecules and making them.
• Biological chemistry: Biological compounds and reactions in nature, understanding them and using them.

Characteristics of Clayden Organic Chemistry

An important feature of Clayden Organic Chemistry is its outline order, it uses the order of mechanism, while the chemistry education in China takes the order of species and functional groups. And the the translator emphasizes the reaction mechanism rather than treating reactions as isolated facts. And the practical experience still keeps its significance.