December 1, 2009
by Arvin Moser, Team Manager, Application Scientists, ACD/Labs
There are many ways to teach the process of elucidating unknown structures. Offering a student a visual guide, such as seeing firsthand a spectral dataset, can enhance the learning process and better equip the student on future work.
Presented below is a typical elucidation question from a university test. The numerical values have been extracted from a 1H NMR spectrum and the student is basically left to focus on elucidating the unknown.
If a 1H NMR spectrum is presented with the question, as shown below, the student is faced with the tasks of interpreting the spectrum and elucidating the unknown.
Although both approaches can serve a purpose, the latter approach enhances the experience of learning how to elucidate an unknown.