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Drawing organic structures digitally

Started over 5 years ago by Jennifer Alford.


I am a high school chemistry teacher finally instructing about organic, hydrocarbon structures and naming. What software do teachers use (cheap or free) to show expanded and condensed structural formulas for hydrocarbons in addition to the zig-zag, line conventions? I am hoping for PC and MAC friendly software or all online and/or mobile formats. Thank you for your time.


5 Comments

  • Jennifer Alford

    Posted over 5 years ago

    Thank you!  I Was surprised to see this pop up in my Facebook feed but feedback is appreciated!  So helpful! 
  • Kimberly Duncan

    Posted over 5 years ago

    AACT 2017-2018 High School Bonnie Wolfe Bloom says: "ChemSketch is free and works on PCs. It can draw structural formulas, show them as 3-d models, and show bond length and bond angle."
  • Sherry Lynn McGregor

    Posted over 5 years ago

    I would also be interested in knowing an answer to this question.
  • Ryan Williams

    Posted over 5 years ago

    I have used a free download at www.acdlabs.com/resources/freeware/ Also, there is a chrome application called molview which is free and might be useful to those with chromebooks.
  • Kimberly Duncan

    Posted over 5 years ago

    Hi Jennifer - Great question! We have decided to send this question out via social media to see what type of software teachers use to help them draw organic molecules. You can follow us on Twitter (@AACTconnect) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AACTconnect/). We will be including any suggestions we receive in the next issue of Chemistry Solutions. Thanks again for a great question!