Welcome to the study guide on Conformational Analysis!

This is often a big feature of a first-semester organic chemistry course, and it's one of the ways that you begin to learn to problem solve by comparing the energy of different conformations of the same molecule.

Conformations, or conformational stereoisomers, result when two molecules with the same formula and connectivity of atoms but different arrangement of those atoms in 3D space (stereoisomers) can be interconverted by bond rotations.

The main types of conformational stereoisomers you'll study are alkanes, which interconvert by rotating around a carbon carbon bond, and cyclohexanes, which can interconvert via a "chair flip" which is just a fancy way of saying that lots of the bonds rotate.

In this study guide, the goal is to teach you to solve problems concerning conformational analysis of alkanes and cyclohexanes so that you can get through them quickly and correctly on exams.

Let's get started!