Explore the Organic Reaction Pathways Game
Drag reagents onto compounds to convert ethane, ethene, ethanol, ethanoic acid and esters, and take route challenges. Works on phones and computers.
- Free to use
- No signup
- Nothing to install
- Runs in your browser
Illustration. Open the tool for the real thing.
See it in action
The Organic Reaction Pathways Game with sample data entered and the result showing.
What is the Organic Reaction Pathways Game?
Drag reagents onto compounds to convert ethane, ethene, ethanol, ethanoic acid and esters, and take route challenges. It runs in your browser, so a change to a setting or a drag on an object shows up at once.
Chemists in pharmaceutical and perfume industries plan multi-step syntheses exactly like this, working out reagents and the shortest safe route.
3 steps to your result
Open the tool and follow along. Nothing to install.
What you get
Each reaction needs the right reagent and conditions.
Alcohols oxidise to aldehydes and then to carboxylic acids.
Alkenes undergo addition; haloalkanes undergo substitution or elimination.
Turn ethane into ethanoic acid in as few steps as you can.
Find both routes from bromoethane to ethene and ethanol.
Try a wrong reagent and see nothing happens.
Used for
Pick one to see how it fits.
Reactions & Kinetics learners
Students learning reaction rates, equilibrium and equations, and teachers who want a visual way to explain what happens to particles.
Try it freeTeachers
For teachers: project the Organic Reaction Pathways Game on the board, let students predict the result, then run it together and test this: Find both routes from bromoethane to ethene and ethanol. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Try it freeHow it compares
A plain look at this tool next to the usual alternative.
| This simulation | Textbook diagram | |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive | Drag, tap and change settings | Fixed picture |
| Install | Nothing to install | Not needed |
| Cost | Free to use | Depends on the book |
Questions people ask
How do you turn ethanol into ethanoic acid?
Heat it under reflux with acidified potassium dichromate(VI). Distilling instead stops at ethanal.
How is an ester made?
Warm a carboxylic acid with an alcohol and a little concentrated sulfuric acid catalyst (esterification).
Is the Organic Reaction Pathways Game free to use?
Yes. The Organic Reaction Pathways Game is free, needs no signup or download and runs in your web browser. It is part of the Reactions & Kinetics group of AZRS simulations.
Does the Organic Reaction Pathways Game work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The Organic Reaction Pathways Game takes touch input as well as mouse input, so you can drag its objects with a finger. A larger screen makes the controls and graphs easier to read.
How do I use the Organic Reaction Pathways Game?
1. In the Organic Reaction Pathways Game, pick an option such as Free explore, Challenge to switch modes or load an example. 2. In the Organic Reaction Pathways Game, press "Start again from ethane", "New challenge", "Undo last step" to start, reset or change what is happening. 3. Start with this experiment: Turn ethane into ethanoic acid in as few steps as you can. Drag any glowing handle, object or slider with your mouse or finger and the Organic Reaction Pathways Game responds in real time. 4. Change one setting at a time and watch which readout moves, then compare it with this idea: Each reaction needs the right reagent and conditions.
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Try the Organic Reaction Pathways Game now
Drag reagents onto compounds to convert ethane, ethene, ethanol, ethanoic acid and. Free to use.
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