Organic Synthesis Route Planner – Reagents, Conditions, Yield and Atom Economy
ChemistryOrganic ChemistryAges 16–17
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Sign in to playStarting from one compound, choose reagents and conditions (reflux or distil, catalyst, concentrated or dilute) to convert functional groups in 2–4 steps to a target: alkane → haloalkane → alcohol → aldehyde or ketone → carboxylic acid → ester, additions to alkenes, nitriles to lengthen the carbon chain, amines, and a challenge that protects a C=C bond. Wrong choices are explained; each step shows the equation, side products, atom economy and yield, and the overall yield is the product of the step yields.
Lesson: Organic synthesis routes and functional-group interconversions
What it shows
Chemists make a target molecule from a simpler starting material through a sequence of steps, each converting one functional group into another under specific conditions. The right reagent with the wrong conditions can give a different product: acidified dichromate gives an aldehyde if it is distilled off at once, but a carboxylic acid under reflux. Every step loses some product, so the overall yield is the product of the step yields, and long routes give little target. Atom economy, from the balanced equation, shows how much of the reactants' mass ends up in the desired product.
How to use
Pick a Challenge. Choose a Reagent and its Conditions, then press Apply step; the route, the functional-group map and the yield chart update. A wrong choice explains why it fails. Use Undo to go back and Hint to see which type of reaction comes next. Move the Starting mass slider to see the theoretical and expected mass of product.
Parameters you can change
- Challenge 1. ethene → ethanoic acid, 2. ethane → ethanal, 3. ethanol → ethyl ethanoate, 4. bromoethane → propanoic acid, 5. propene → propanone, 6. propan-1-ol → propanone, 7. ethene → propan-1-amine, 8. ethene → methyl propanoate, 9. prop-2-en-1-ol → propenoic acid (protect C=C), 10. ethanol → ethylamine
- Starting mass 1–100 g
- Allow hints
Questions to explore
- Why must an aldehyde be distilled off as it forms, while a carboxylic acid is made by heating under reflux?
- Why does a four-step route with 80 % yield in each step give only about 41 % overall?
- Which reaction adds one carbon atom to the chain, and what is its atom economy?
