A radical is a molecule that has an unpaired electron. Think of it as that one friend who doesn’t like to be tied down and dances solo at parties!

• Double-Barbed Arrow (🡆🡆)
  • Shows the movement of a pair of electrons. Imagine a couple dancing hand-in-hand.
  • Real-world example: Passing a basketball (electron pair) to another player.
• Fish Hook Arrow (🡆)
  • Represents the movement of just a single electron.
  • These are used when we're talking about radicals. Just like when someone does a solo dance move!
  • Real-world example: Juggling! When one ball (electron) is tossed, while the others remain in hand.

Important Pointers: a. Arrows start where the electrons are (electron-rich area). b. They point towards where the electrons want to go (electron-poor area).

Homolytic Fission: This is like a twin breakup! Here, a molecule splits in such a way that each atom gets one electron from the bond. Imagine a cookie being split, and each kid gets half. No fights! 😅

• Example: Halogen radicals (like chlorine). When chlorine (Cl₂) breaks up, each Cl gets one electron.

• Cl-Cl becomes Cl• + Cl• (The "•" represents the unpaired electron dancing solo!)