Acetic acid.
The acid-base behavior of various organic substances is an important theme. In many cases, the acidity or basicity of a certain species is an important factor in its reactivity. The slight acidity of primary alkynes, for example, enables their employment as nucleophiles in certain reactions of importance in organic synthesis. Furthermore, the acidity or basicity or certain functional groups, especially the acidity of the carboxyl group and the basicity of the amine group, are crucially important in biochemistry.
Beyond the acidity of the carboxyl group and basicity of the amine group, which are obviously important for the exam, the MCAT will also probe after the specific detailed knowledge in the reaction chemistry, because it is a good index of overall student mastery of organic chemistry. The MCAT likes to see if you know of the special acidity of phenol or if you understand the behavior of the acidic α-proton in keto-enol tautomerism. You will also sometimes see questions regarding substituent effects on acidity or basicity. Being able to judge the effect of a near substituent on acidity or basicity is a good indicator of the overall conceptual ground beneath your organic chemistry understanding.
WikiPremed Resources
Formation and Use of Acetylide Anion Nucleophiles
Conceptual Vocabulary Self-Test
Basic Terms Crossword Puzzle
Basic Puzzle Solution
Conceptual Vocabulary for Organic Acids & Bases
Acetic acid, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic chemical compound best recognized for giving vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell.
Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group.
Amines and nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds are organic bases.
Amines are organic compounds and a type of functional group that contain nitrogen as the key atom. Structurally amines resemble ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by alkyl and aryl groups.
An alkoxide is the conjugate base of an alcohol and therefore consists of an organic group bonded to a negatively charged oxygen atom.
An acetate, or ethanoate, is a salt or ester of acetic acid.
Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, possesses a structure consisting of a hydroxyl group bonded to a phenyl ring.
Benzoic acid is a colorless crystalline solid and the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid.
Nitrogenous bases are organic compounds that owe their basic properties to the lone pair of electrons of a nitrogen atom.
Enols are alkenes with a hydroxyl group affixed to one of the carbon atoms composing the double bond.
Formic acid (systematically called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid
Malonic acid is a dicarboxylic acid with two carboxyl groups bound to a central carbon.
Basic aromatic rings are aromatic rings in which the lone pair of electrons of a ring-nitrogen atom is not part of the aromatic system and extends in the plane of the ring.
Methylamine is a derivative of ammonia, wherein one H atom is replaced by a methyl group
A harpoon base is an organic base that is a very strong base but at the same time a poor nucleophile.