Title: Baldwin's rules
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Baldwin's rules
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.B00592
Status: current

Definition
A set of empirical rules for certain formations of 3- to 7-membered rings. The predicted pathways are those in which the length and nature of the linking chain enables the terminal atoms to achieve the proper geometries for reaction. The disfavoured cases are subject to severe distortions of bond angles and bond distances.

Source
- PAC, 1994, 66, 1077. 'Glossary of terms used in physical organic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 1088 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466051077)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/B00592/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/B00592/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/B00592/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Baldwin's rules' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.B00592
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Accessed: 2026-07-24T00:21:35+00:00