Equivalent carbons carbons that have the same chemical environment. Presence of oxygen atoms causes the carbon nuclei to be deshielded; signals closer to oxygen are more downfield. Number of signals - number of non-equivalent hydrogens. Integration of peaks - relative number of hydrogens responsible for the signal. Splitting of signals - number of neighboring hydrogens. Protons attached directly to electronegative atoms resonate over a wide chemical shift range. The relative area under each signal is a measure of the no. of equivalent hydrogens responsible for that resonance. Signal areas in a 1h-nmr spectrum can be measured by a mathematical technique called integration. Nuclei with magnetic moments (e. g. 1h and 13c) interact (couple) with adjacent nuclei with magnetic moments. The 1h-nmr signal is split into a set of peaks by the influence of neighbouring (adjacent) hydrogen nuclei. The splitting pattern follows the (n + 1) rule where n is the number of hydrogens on neighbouring carbons.
