UV-Vis and IR Spectroscopy Explained: How to Identify Any Molecule on the MCAT

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we laid the foundation with absorption, emission and the electromagnetic spectrum. Now we finally get to use all of that to actually identify molecules. This is the episode most students dread. Spectroscopy diagrams, wavenumbers, peaks, and graphs that look like complete gibberish. Mike and Molly break it all down so it actually makes sense, without the memorization spiral that trips everyone up. Get started with our resources! 📌 Success Advising (get clarity on where you are and on what support and resources are necessary for your success): https://calendly.com/academic-advisin... 💻 Try our Chrome Extension (expert solutions to every AAMC passage): https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8 📚 Free QBANK: https://jackwestin.com/qbank/?utm_sou... 🎓 Live Sessions: https://jackwestin.com/sessions?utm_s... 👨🏻‍🏫 Courses (guaranteed to improve your score): https://jackwestin.com/courses?utm_so... 🙋 Tutoring (guaranteed to improve your score): https://jackwestin.com/services/live-... 0:00 Intro and why spectroscopy is the natural next step after separation techniques 4:30 Why understanding beats memorizing for spectroscopy questions 8:00 UV-Vis spectroscopy overview and electronic transitions 13:00 Conjugation and why it determines what wavelength is absorbed 18:00 Aromatic amino acids and UV-Vis absorption peaks 22:00 Why plants are green and carrots are orange 26:00 Beer-Lambert Law explained 32:00 Path length and the cuvette width clarification 36:00 How UV-Vis monitors reactions in real time 40:00 IR spectroscopy overview and why bonds behave like springs 46:00 Wavenumber vs wavelength on the x-axis 50:00 The three wavenumbers you need to know 57:00 Broad vs sharp peaks and how to tell OH from NH 1:02:00 Why the OH peak is broad and hydrogen bonding explained 1:06:00 The fingerprint region and why you can ignore it 1:10:00 How IR questions actually appear on the MCAT 1:15:00 Preview of next episode: NMR and mass spectrometry