Kaplan MCAT Organic Chemistry Chapters 1–12 Complete Notes & Practice 2026 – Rated A+, Guaranteed Pass

Kaplan MCAT Organic Chemistry Chapters 1–12 Complete Notes &
Practice 2026 | Rated A+




Heteroatoms - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-atoms that are not carbon or hydrogen.


-O,N,P, or halogens


oxidation state - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- increases with more bonds to
heteroatoms
- decreases with more bonds hydrogen


sec-butyl - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


neo-pentyl - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


Diols - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-alcohols with 2 hydroxyl groups


geminal diols - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-diols with hydroxyl groups on the same
carbon


vicinal diols - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-diols with hydroxyl groups on adjacent
carbons

,Formaldehyde - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


acetaldehyde - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


propionaldehyde - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


phthalic anhydride - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


succinic anhydride - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


acetic anhydride - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


Major functional groups - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔*highest oxidation state to
lowest:
1) carboxylic acid
2) anhydride
3) esters
4) amides
5) aldehydes
6) ketones
7) alcohol
8) alkenes
9) alkynes
10) alkanes

,physical properties - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- characteristics of a substance that
can be observed or measured without changing the substance


-EX: mp, bp, odor, density, color, solubility


chemical properties - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Characteristics of a substance that
determine how it will react with other substances.


Isomers - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Compounds with the same formula but different
structures.


EX: C5H12 with two different structure


structural (constitutional) isomers - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-same molecular
formula, different connectivity
-same molecular weight


Flowchart of Isomer Relationships - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔


Stereoisomers - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-same chemical formula.
-same atomic connectivity
-different in how atoms are arranged in space
-slow at low temperature

, conformational isomers - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-differ by rotation around a
single sigma bond
-most similar
-same molecule


Cycloalkanes - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-can be stable or unstable depending on
ring strain


-Ring strain arises from 3 factors:


1) angle strain:
-results when bond angles deviate from their ideal values by being stretched or
compressed


2) Torsional strain
-when cyclic molecules must assume conformations that have eclipsed or gauche


3) Nonbonded strain (van der waals repulsion):
-when non adjacent atoms compete for the same space


chair conformation - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-The chair-shaped conformation of
cyclohexane that has no angle strain and has no torsional strain because it is
perfectly staggered about all the C-C bonds. It is strain free.


-bulkiest group favor equatorial position to reduce nonbonded strain (flagpole
interactions) with axial groups