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The 2026 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
11 Oct 2026
The 2026 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

The Nobel prize for Chemistry this year celebrates the pioneering work of Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai on homochirality - the  synthesis of just the required enantiomer of chiral compounds and not the mirror...

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  • Geoffrey

    Site author
    11 Nov 2026

    Hi Lauren, Your students do have a valid point when considering what is written in S3.2.1. The problem is that skeletal structures (whether full or condensed) are also ways of representing the structural formula as the definition of a structural...

    MC test: S3.2 Functional groups - classification of organic compounds

  • Lauren

    11 Nov 2026

    For Q7. Students have challenged the answer and arguing that I is not a "structural" formula.  According to the syllabus, it is named a "skeletal formula" separate from the two types of "structural formula".  S3.2.1 Organic compounds...

    MC test: S3.2 Functional groups - classification of organic compounds

  • Rafael

    11 Nov 2026

    Thanks Geoff, I agree that the three distractors are typical exothermic processes, and students who know what they are doing should gravitate towards the nitrogen one, particularly if they are familiar with "tricky" IB questions like these.Regarding...

    R1.3 Energy from fuels

  • Geoffrey

    Site author
    10 Nov 2026

    Hello Rafael, I don't think the question is unreasonable. An energy profile is given which shows the reaction is endothermic. The three 'wrong' responses are the formation of the H-H(g) bond from H(g) atoms, the neutralization of NaOH(aq)...

    R1.3 Energy from fuels

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