The main chapters deliberately favor patterns and mechanisms over reagent lists — the Common Mistakes sections in Chapters 7–17 repeatedly warn against memorizing tables in place of understanding why a reaction happens. This appendix is the reagent-level reference that goes with that reasoning: once a mechanism is understood, these tables are where to look up which specific reagents accomplish it.

How to use this appendix: each table gives the reaction name, typical reagents/conditions, the product, the key mechanistic pattern (which should already be familiar from the chapter body), and a common pitfall. Use it for exam review, not first-pass learning.

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Substitution and Elimination (SN1, SN2, E1, E2)

Reasoning through these four questions, in order, resolves most substitution/elimination problems:

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Addition to Alkenes and Alkynes

Aromatic rings do not undergo these reactions — see Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution, below, and the Chapter 9 Common Mistake on this point.

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Nucleophilic Addition to Aldehydes and Ketones

Every reaction in this table follows the same general pattern introduced in Chapter 12: a nucleophile attacks the electrophilic carbonyl carbon, electron…

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Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution (Carboxylic Acid Derivatives)

Unlike aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acid derivatives have a leaving group attached to the carbonyl carbon. The tetrahedral intermediate formed by…

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Enols, Enolates, and Carbon–Carbon Bond Formation

See Chapter 14 for the acidity argument (enolate resonance stabilization) and Appendix B’s section on carbonyl α-carbons for representative pKa values.

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Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution

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Addition vs. Substitution at Carbonyls — A Direct Comparison

This is one of the most frequently confused pairs in Organic Chemistry II. Both reactions begin identically — a nucleophile attacks the electrophilic…

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Cross-References