Semistructural formulae

[NE2000]

The assessment reports have eg. CH3CH=CHCH3, is the = necessary at all?

[Mao]

not necessary, but it's good to show double bonds

[NE2000]

not necessary, but it's good to show double bonds

OK thanks.

Also another very general question when the assessment reports has dot points but they don't specify that 'one of the following points were needed' does that imply that all of the points were needed? When they give you an NMR spectrum and ask what information it gives you should you be just saying that you have three environments and the splitting suggests that one is next to a CH2 and one is next to a CH3 or should you be going as far as saying that the compound has probably got this structure.

It's just that they have these questions where they give you the spectra and ask you to identify the compound and they have a separate part to ask you to finally identify the compound and before that they ask all sorts of small questions like what does the molecular peak at this particular number tell you about the compound and sometimes you can identify the compound just using that small bit of information but I don't know whether I should. Eg. I think it was last year's exam (might not have been, don't remember) but it asked you about a chloro compound vs. a dichloro compound (had to identify which one it was) and it gave you the mass spectrum and asked you what the molecular peak tells you and then later it asked you which compound it was...so a bit confused about that...

EDIT: btw Mao, 4999 posts lol

[Mao]

5000 now. lol

Generally that depends on how many marks the question is worth. But so long as you communicate the key ideas, they wouldn't be too harsh. Examiners' mentality is to award you marks, not to take them off.