Alcohols

• Mass spectrometry is used to find the relative molecular masses of organic compounds
• Atoms and chemical bonds absorb infrared radiation because they are constantly vibrating and can absorb radiation of the same frequency as their vibration
• Troughs on an infrared spectrum show the frequencies where radiation has been absorbed, which can be matched to a table to identify the bonds represented
• Stronger bonds vibrate faster
• How infrared spectroscopy works: Every bond has a unique vibration frequency in the infrared region of the EM spectrum. Bonds absorb radiation matching their vibration frequency, and the missing frequencies in the emerged radiation can be used to identify the compound’s functional group