About the SN2 Reaction Mechanism simulation
SN2 means substitution, nucleophilic, bimolecular. A nucleophile — an electron-rich species such as OH⁻, CN⁻ or I⁻ — replaces the halogen of an alkyl halide in a single step. It attacks the carbon from the side opposite the halogen (backside attack), the new bond forms as the old one breaks, and the three other groups on carbon flip over like an umbrella in the wind. That flip is the Walden inversion: a chiral substrate gives the product with the inverted configuration.
This SN2 reaction simulation plays the mechanism one step at a time on a 3D model you can turn. The nucleophile's lone pair and the C–X bond pair are drawn as coloured dots, so the two curved arrows show real electrons moving. With Predict on, it asks you what happens before each step. A second mode compares substrates (methyl, 1°, 2°, neopentyl, 3°), nucleophiles, leaving groups and solvents, and a recall mode asks you to draw the arrows and order the steps from memory.
Also covers: sn2, nucleophilic substitution, bimolecular, backside attack, walden inversion, inversion of configuration, transition state, haloalkane, alkyl halide, leaving group, nucleophile, curved arrow, finkelstein, polar aprotic solvent, steric hindrance.
