Chapter Profile

The content in  this    chapter should  be  relevant    to  about   10% of  all questions   about   Organic

Chemistry   on  the MCAT.   

This    chapter covers  material    from    the following   AAMC    content category:   

4D: How light   and sound   interact    with    matter

Introduction

If we are given an unknown compound, one of the most efficient ways to identify it and determine
its properties is by using spectroscopy. Spectroscopy measures the energy differences between the
possible states of a molecular system by determining the frequencies of electromagnetic radiation
absorbed by the molecules. These possible states are quantized energy levels associated with
different types of molecular motion, such as molecular rotation, vibration of bonds, electron