C2 · 50 words
Organic chemistry in Spanish
Functional groups, stereochemistry and mechanisms — how to talk about molecules nobody ever sees.
La cadena here is a run of carbon atoms, and « chain » says the same. The Spanish word then keeps going where ours stops. Una cadena de televisión is a channel, not a network of anything; una cadena de tiendas is a chain of shops, which we do say; and la cadena perpetua is a life sentence, where the chain is the one nobody wears any more. On this page it is a molecule; on a remote control it is a channel; in a courtroom it is a sentence.
The words
Phrase (33)
la química orgánicathe study of what carbon buildsPhraseC2
el esqueleto carbonadothe run of carbon atoms a molecule is hung onPhraseC2
la cadena ramificadathe chain that forks, and boils at a lower temperature for itPhraseC2
el grupo funcionalthe handful of atoms that decides how a molecule behavesPhraseC2
el hidrocarburo saturadothe hydrocarbon with single bonds and nothing elsePhraseC2
el anillo aromáticothe ring that refuses to take anything onPhraseC2
el alcohol primariothe alcohol on an end carbon, which oxidises to an aldehydePhraseC2
el ácido carboxílicothe group that lets a proton go easilyPhraseC2
el éter orgánicothe oxygen between two carbons, which hardly reactsPhraseC2
el halogenuro de alquilothe carbon with a halogen on it, easily swappedPhraseC2
el enlace covalente polarthe bond that shares its charge unevenlyPhraseC2
el efecto inductivothe pull passed along through the bonds themselvesPhraseC2
la resonancia molecularthe spreading of charge that steadies an anionPhraseC2
el orbital híbridothe mixed orbital that explains the angle between bondsPhraseC2
la geometría molecularthe shape a molecule takes in space, here tetrahedralPhraseC2
el isómero estructuralthe molecule with the same formula and a different skeletonPhraseC2
el carbono asimétricothe carbon with four different things on itPhraseC2
la mezcla racémicathe equal mixture of both, which turns polarised light not at allPhraseC2
la configuración absolutathe naming of which mirror image it is, with an R or an SPhraseC2
la conformación en sillathe folded shape a six-carbon ring settles intoPhraseC2
el mecanismo de reacciónthe account of what happens, step by stepPhraseC2
el sustrato orgánicothe molecule the attack is made onPhraseC2
el grupo salientethe piece that walks off with the electron pairPhraseC2
la sustitución nucleófilathe swap that turns the arrangement inside outPhraseC2
la reacción de eliminaciónthe reaction that pulls two pieces off and leaves a double bondPhraseC2
la adición electrófilathe reaction that opens a double bondPhraseC2
el intermedio de reacciónthe species that exists for microseconds on the wayPhraseC2
el estado de transiciónthe point at the top of the hill, which nothing sits atPhraseC2
la energía de activaciónthe height of that hill, which a catalyst lowersPhraseC2
la síntesis en varias etapasthe route with several steps, each of them costing yieldPhraseC2
el rendimiento de la reacciónthe share of the theoretical amount actually obtainedPhraseC2
la purificación por columnathe separating of products by running them down a columnPhraseC2
el punto de fusión como controlthe check that gives the impurity awayPhraseC2
Noun (m) (10)
el alquenothe hydrocarbon carrying one double bondNoun (m)C2
el alquinothe hydrocarbon carrying a triple oneNoun (m)C2
el aldehídothe carbonyl sitting at the end of the chainNoun (m)C2
el ésterthe group made from an acid and an alcohol, and smelling of fruitNoun (m)C2
el nitrilothe triple bond to nitrogen, which hydrolyses to an acidNoun (m)C2
el estereoisómerothe molecule with the same skeleton and a different arrangementNoun (m)C2
el enantiómerothe mirror image itself, which cannot be laid over the originalNoun (m)C2
el nucleófilothe attacker that brings a pair of electrons with itNoun (m)C2
el electrófilothe attacker that is looking for electrons insteadNoun (m)C2
el carbocatiónthe carbon short of an electron pair, steadiest when most crowdedNoun (m)C2
Noun (f) (7)
la aromaticidadthe property that requires the electrons to be spread outNoun (f)C2
la cetonathe carbonyl sitting inside the chainNoun (f)C2
la amidathe bond that holds a protein togetherNoun (f)C2
la aminathe group that behaves as a baseNoun (f)C2
la electronegatividadthe pull an atom has on the electrons it sharesNoun (f)C2
la quiralidadthe property of not being superposable on one's mirror imageNoun (f)C2
la recristalizaciónthe purifying that leaves the dirt behind in the liquidNoun (f)C2
This list belongs to Nature and natural sciences — 31 lists and 1550 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.