Functional Groups: Physical and Chemical Properties

MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach)

MedSchoolCoach

Science

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A deep understanding of functional groups is crucial for excelling in the MCAT, as they play a key role in the reactivity, physical properties, and biological functions of molecules.

In this episode, Sam Smith breaks down the essential functional groups, covering their physical and chemical properties, biological relevance, and common reaction mechanisms. From alcohols and carbonyl-containing groups like aldehydes and ketones, to nitrogen-containing amines and amides, Sam explains how these groups are presented in exam questions and their impact on biological systems.

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Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Intro

(01:54) How the MCAT asks questions about functional groups

(02:01) Physical vs. chemical properties

(04:09) Alcohols: Structure and classification

(06:13) MCAT questions related to the physical properties of alcohols

(10:03) MCAT question examples related to boiling points

(11:54) Biological reactions involving alcohols

(34:23) Reactivity of carbonyl-containing functional groups

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to MCAT Basics, your ultimate guide to the essential topics you need to master for the MCAT,
0:07.8	brought to you by the physicians at med school coach.
0:10.9	Every week, Sam Smith breaks down high-yield MCAT topics, ensuring you're primed for success on test day.
0:17.3	Join Sam as we explore the most crucial subjects outlined by the AAMC, pulled from official practice materials and third-party resources.
0:25.5	Get ready to elevate your MCAT game with topics tailored to maximize your score potential.
0:31.0	Hello, I'm Sam Smith.
0:33.5	This podcast will cover the main functional groups to know for the MCAT.
0:37.0	What I'm going to do is I'm going to introduce the different functional groups to know.
0:40.0	Then I'll talk about their physical and chemical properties, their relevance and biological reactions, and then their reactivity.
0:46.8	And then lastly, I will mention how the MCAT likes to ask questions regarding these functional groups.
0:51.9	This material shows up in two out of the four MCAT sections.
0:55.3	That's going to be the Chemphys section in the BioBioChem section.
0:58.5	And all in all, understanding functional groups in their reactivities, their physical
1:02.7	properties, their chemical properties, all that is very important for the MCAT.
1:06.0	You will see problems on the MCAT regarding functional groups.
1:15.1	Okay. problems on the MCAT regarding functional groups. So before I get started talking about the actual functional groups themselves, I want to
1:18.7	talk about what physical properties are, what chemical properties are, and what intensive
1:24.5	properties of some material are. These are both terms I'm going to use throughout the podcast,
1:28.9	so it's important that you know what these means
1:30.8	so that when I say it, you're not like,
1:32.6	what does that mean?
1:34.1	Physical properties of material are those that can be observed
	...

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