Sn2 Memes

Regular people see a broken umbrella and think "bad weather." Chemistry students see the holy grail of nucleophilic substitution mechanisms in the wild! The SN2 reaction (or Walden inversion) is exactly like that umbrella flipping inside out—the nucleophile attacks from the back, the leaving group exits, and boom—complete inversion of stereochemistry. Nothing gets a chemistry major more excited than seeing their textbook reactions manifested in everyday objects. Next time you're caught in a storm, remember: you're not getting wet, you're witnessing molecular orbital theory in action!

Chemistry burns hotter than any Bunsen burner! This meme shows a hydroxide ion (OH-) transforming into bromomethane (CH₃Br) with a savage "your mom" joke thrown in. It's basically a chemical reaction comeback - the hydroxide is "me" making a nucleophilic attack, while "your mom" is the bromomethane getting absolutely substituted! Chemistry nerds know this is an SN2 reaction where the OH- swoops in and kicks out the bromine. Even molecules can throw shade! 🧪🔥

This meme is peak organic chemistry wordplay. SN2 reactions involve nucleophilic substitution where one group gets kicked out as another swoops in—basically molecular ghosting. The joke brilliantly compares relationship dynamics to chemical mechanisms: she won't leave her current partner (the leaving group) until a suitable replacement (the nucleophile) comes along. The backside attack approach of SN2 reactions makes this even more deliciously awkward. Chemistry students everywhere just snorted coffee through their noses.

The drama in this chemical relationship is off the charts! That hydroxide ion (HO - ) is desperately trying to perform an elimination reaction with tert-butyl chloride, but the bulky methyl groups are like bouncers at an exclusive molecular club saying "NOPE!" This is classic steric hindrance - where those chunky methyl groups physically block the nucleophile from attacking. The molecule's panicked "AAAAAAAAHHHHH" is basically what your organic chemistry professor hears internally whenever students mix up SN1 and SN2 reactions. Chemistry's version of "it's not you, it's my bulky molecular structure."

Organic chemistry explained through feline behavior—pure genius! The top row shows SN1 (unimolecular nucleophilic substitution): the gray cat leaves the bed first, creating a "cat-ion" vacancy, which the orange cat opportunistically fills afterward. The bottom row depicts SN2 (bimolecular nucleophilic substitution): the orange cat directly attacks the gray cat's cozy spot, simultaneously pushing it out while claiming the territory in one concerted step. This is the kind of visualization that would have saved countless undergrads from failing organic chemistry. Twenty years of drawing arrows on whiteboards, and not once did I think to use cats. No wonder students fall asleep during reaction mechanisms—they needed more whiskers and fewer wedge-dash notations!