SN2
Based on "Waterloo"
Original words and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson
My my! In SN2, the rate law’s second order,
Oh yeah! The step that’s rate determining has two reactants in:
The leaving group’s still attached while
Attacked by the nucleophile…
SN2! Nucleophile joins as old bond breaks,
SN2! Two partial bonds in transition state;
SN2! Sterically best with few alkyl groups,
SN2! Rate law is raised to the power two.
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, SN2 - primary halides go SN2!
My my! Inductively, no hope for prim’ry halides -
Oh yeah! One electron-releasing alkyl group to stabilise:
There’s no carbocation here
(Not stable enough, it appears…)
SN2! Nucleophile joins as old bond breaks,
SN2! Two partial bonds in transition state;
SN2! Sterically best with few alkyl groups,
SN2! Rate law is raised to the power two.
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, SN2 - primary halides go SN2!
There’s no carbocation here
(Not stable enough, it appears…)
SN2! Sterically best with few alkyl groups,
SN2! Primary halides go SN2,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, SN2 - primary halides go SN2!
Oo-oo-ooo-ooh, SN2 - primary halides go SN2,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, SN2 - primary halides go SN2!
© Aimee Hartnell, January 2001