Chair is the most stable, most important, and common conformation of cyclohexane, so knowing how to draw it (them – there are two chair conformations), is an essential skill you will need to know throughout your journey of organic chemistry.
There are different ways of drawing a chair conformation just like you can draw a square or a rectangle starting and finishing with any of the lines. You can draw the lines in any order you like, but regardless of how you draw a chair conformation, it is important to keep the angles, the relative lengths of this shapes.
Pay attention to these important features when drawing a chair conformation:
- Try to keep the upper and bottom carbon atoms within two parallel lines:
- There are three parallel bonds in the chair conformation:
The best way to master this skill is to print a chair conformation, place it under a blank sheet of paper, and sketch it over, and keep practicing. Below are a couple of ways you can practice drawing chair conformation:
What we have shown above is the carbon skeleton of the chair conformations, and as drawn the carbon atoms require two hydrogens to satisfy the octet. These hydrogens, or any other atoms, must also be drawn at correct angles and directions classified as axial and equatorial positions:
The color-coded hydrogens do not imply the same atom. It is rather to show the axial and equatorial positions.
The two chair forms are conformational isomers that interconvert through a ring flip, and we discuss this topic in detail here.
Axial and Equatorial Positions
There are two positions in each chair conformation: axial and equatorial. Draw the axial groups first, and then the equatorials.
The axial positions are pointed straight up or down along the vertical direction. The ones on the carbons pointing down, are pointed down, and those pointed up are pointed up as well:
Once you have the axial groups drawn, add the equatorials. Remember, if the axial is pointing up, the equatorial group must be pointing down. If the axial is pointing down, the equatorial group must be pointing up. The equatorial positions are pointing to the sides, parallel to two C-C bonds in the chair:
One common mistake by my students was placing the equatorial groups pointing inside instead of outside the ring. Do not point the equatorial groups inward the ring:
Check Also
- Naming Alkanes by IUPAC nomenclature Rules Practice Problems
- Naming Bicyclic Compounds
- Naming Bicyclic Compounds-Practice Problems
- How to Name a Compound with Multiple Functional Groups
- Primary Secondary and Tertiary Carbon Atoms in Organic Chemistry
- Constitutional or Structural Isomers with Practice Problems
- Degrees of Unsaturation or Index of Hydrogen Deficiency
- Newman Projections with Practice Problems
- Gauche Conformation, Steric, Torsional Strain Energy Practice Problems
- Ring Strain
- Drawing the Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
- Ring Flip: Drawing Both Chair Conformations with Practice Problems
- 1,3-Diaxial Interactions and A value for Cyclohexanes
- Ring-Flip: Comparing the Stability of Chair Conformations with Practice Problems
- Cis and Trans Decalin
- IUPAC Nomenclature Summary Quiz
- Alkanes and Cycloalkanes Practice Quiz
Practice
Draw a chair conformation for the following molecule:
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Draw a chair conformation for the following molecule:
Draw a chair conformation for the following molecule:
This content is for registered users only.
By joining Chemistry Steps, you will gain instant access to the answers and solutions for all the Practice Problems including over 20 hours of problem-solving videos, Multiple-Choice Quizzes, Puzzles, and the powerful set of Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 Summary Study Guides.
Draw a chair conformation for the following molecule:
This content is for registered users only.
By joining Chemistry Steps, you will gain instant access to the answers and solutions for all the Practice Problems including over 20 hours of problem-solving videos, Multiple-Choice Quizzes, Puzzles, and the powerful set of Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 Summary Study Guides.
Draw a chair conformation for the following molecule:
This content is for registered users only.
By joining Chemistry Steps, you will gain instant access to the answers and solutions for all the Practice Problems including over 20 hours of problem-solving videos, Multiple-Choice Quizzes, Puzzles, and the powerful set of Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 Summary Study Guides.
