Radicals

[Sophia Schiro]

Could anyone explain what a radical is? I just watched todays lecture and I am still a little confused.

Thanks!

[Jessica Phung 1E]

A radical is a compound that has an odd number of total electrons meaning that one will be unpaired. Hope this helps.

[joshua_quinn_1C]

Hello! A radical is any compound with an unpaired valence electron. In other words, a radical has an odd number of valence electrons. These compounds tend to be highly reactive and do not last for a long time

[Carmen Kim 3I]

Hi,
From what I believe, a radical is a compound that has at least one unpaired valence electron. Most molecules have an even number of electrons; however, a radical would have an odd number of electrons.

[Meghan Spoeri 2D]

Hi,

A radical is an atom, molecule, or ion with an unpaired electron, which makes it highly reactive. Free radicals can cause damage to our cells and our DNA. Antioxidants, such as Vitamin A, can bind to radicals and make them less reactive.

[Alexis DeHorta 2A]

A radical, also known as a free radical, is a compound or molecule that contains an unpaired electron. These molecules are often highly reactive and dangerous, but only exist for short periods of time. Usually molecules have even numbers of electrons, for instance take H2O, it has an even number of 8 elections which are eventually distributed within the octet. But OH only has 7 electrons, meaning that it will have one unpaired electron. Hopefully this helps!

[905701360]

A radical is a compound with at least one unpaired electron and can be highly reactive, so they exist for a short time.

[Madison Rhynhart 3H]

A radical is a compound that has an odd number of electrons or rather has an unpaired electron which makes it more reactive. This is why free radicals in the body can cause excessive harm because they tend to react with our DNA causing mutation or damage.

[arielle_cunanan3K]

A radical is a compound that has an odd number of valence electrons, such as NO, which has 11 valence electrons. Due to at least one unpaired valence electron, this compound is highly react and doesn’t exist for much time.

[Trisha Nagin]

Radicals are very reactive and, they are compounds that have at least an unpaired electron.

[Ashley Presnell 1C]

Radicals are special exceptions with an unpaired valence electron. This makes them highly reactive, and also only exist for very short periods of time. An example would be CH3 which is formed in the flame of burning hydrocarbons.

[Shiley_David_1D]

Could anyone explain what a radical is? I just watched todays lecture and I am still a little confused.

Thanks!

Hi Sophia!

A radical is a compound with unpaired electrons. They are highly reactive and only exist for a short time. The example provided during the lecture was that radicals "damage" DNA because they react with it. The extra notes I wrote down to better understand is that chemical mutations, like cancer, can react with DNA, RNA, etc. Food supplements (antioxidants: vitamin C and E - blocking oxidation and OH radical from doing cellular damage) react with radicals before they cause damage.

Hope this helps!

[Sidharth Paparaju 3B]

A radical is an atom, molecule, or ion with (at least one) unpaired electrons. So the oxygen atom is technically a radical since its p-orbital electrons are unpaired.

[Anthony_Rio_3K]

A radical is a compound that has an odd number of total electrons meaning that one will be unpaired. Hope this helps.

Do you know when and why radicals occur? Does something have to happen for them occur? Thanks!

[madelyn kelly 1I]

A radical is a compound with unpaired e- that are highly reactive, unstable, and only exist for a short amount of time. A common example is •OH.

[Sasha Gladkikh 2A]

Hi,

Some elements, most notably nitrogen, can form compounds that do not obey the octet rule. One class of such compounds are those that have an odd number of electrons. As the octet rule requires eight electrons around each atom, a molecule with an odd number of electrons must disobey the octet rule. Molecules with unpaired electrons are termed ‘free radicals.’ While typically highly unstable, and therefore highly reactive, some free radicals exhibit stability of days, months, or even years. These latter compounds are said to be ‘metastable,’ meaning they will decompose or react if given enough time, but are stable enough for a considerable amount of time, from days to even years, when subjected to only minor disturbances.

For example, nitric oxide is a by-product of combustion reactions that occur in engines, like those in automobile engines and fossil fuel power plants. Nitric oxide has the formula NO. The total number of valence electrons is 5+6=11. Therefore, no matter how electrons are shared between the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, there is no way for nitrogen to have an octet. It will have seven electrons, assuming that the oxygen atom does satisfy the octet.

[Anna Guan]

A radical has a lone electron instead of a lone pair of electrons.

[JohnathanH_1H]

Radicals are compounds that have unpaired electrons. Such as CH3.