Curly Arrows

Electrons move in pairs

An interactive lesson with 5 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• A curly arrow = one electron pair moving, from a lone pair or bond to an atom or bond.
• Arrows never start at a positive charge or an empty orbital.
• Heterolysis: both electrons go to one atom, giving ions.

Steps

1. The rules
2. One arrow
3. Filling a gap
4. Where arrows start
5. Two ways to break a bond