Well, it seems exam season is nearly upon us again. So for those of you who don’t know about this fantastic revision tool called ‘Curly Arrows’, here’s a brief description of what it can do.

Curly Arrows

Curly Arrows are used in the representation of organic reaction mechanisms. The interactive “Curly Arrows” web site is intended to help you learn to use curly arrows, and to gain experience in drawing reaction mechanisms. You can practice using curly arrows in an interactive environment that provides feedback on your work. This makes the website an excellent revision tool for organic chemistry at all levels.

On the website you will find lots of sections, and they are relevant to different academic years. Once you have the application open in the “Tutorials” section, have a go at the topics listed below. Do not worry if you struggle, you can have as many attempts as you like and it’s completely anonymous!

Curly Arrows Website

First Year

Electronics 1

Electronics 2

Nucleophilic Substitution 1

Eliminations 1

Alkenes 1

Second Year

Nucleophilic Substitution 2

Eliminations 2

Alkenes 2

Nucleophilic Reactions of Carbonyl Compounds 1 and 2

Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution