Bond Angle Strain vs. Torsional Strain

[jyc185]

What is the exact difference between a bond angle strain and a torsional strain? I'm having a hard time grasping the two ideas.

[Jonathan Shih 3H]

Hey,

I'm not sure we need to know this distinction since it seems like this is 14C material, but here's a UCLA resource (I think it's actually from Hardinger's class) that could help clarify the distinction between the two types of strains. http://www.chem.ucla.edu/harding/notes/strain_02.pdf

Hope the reference helps!

[Shrita Pendekanti 4B]

Torsional strain is caused by electron repulsion between neighboring atoms while bond angle strain is caused when bond angles disagree with the ideal orientation of the molecule. Hope this helps!

[zhajee]

Does torsional strain always have to occur between two atoms orthogonal to each other?

[chemgal4L]

what exactly does orthogonal to each other mean..?

[Elsa Calzada 3E]

On Wednesday's lecture, Dr. Lavelle mentions an additional strain "when atoms are physically bumping into each other" how does this relate to the torsional strain?

[Shaye Busse 3B]

When atoms are physically bumping into each other, this is a different kind of strain called steric strain. This in addition to torsional and bond angle strain will make up the difference in potential energy from one conformation to another.

[Shirley Wong 2E]

Does all eclipsed molecules have torsional strain?

[Megan FitzPatrick 1C]

I am pretty sure the answer is yes, as long as the molecule is made up of neighboring carbons with hydrogens that eclipse (overlap in space).