know the definitions:
tautomers, enol, enolate, alpha-position
recognize the acidity of alpha-hydrogens (pKa ~20)
recognize the reasons for alpha-hydrogen acidity (resonance)
apply the Greek-letter method of identifying the location of a functional group in a compound
write keto-enol equilibria
recognize products from aldol reactions
recognize products from Claisen condensations
write mechanisms for enolization, either acid- or base-catalyzed
write mechanisms for alpha-substitutions:
acid-catalyzed halogenation
base-catalyzed alkylation
write mechanisms for base-catalyzed aldol reactions
write mechanisms for base-catalyzed Claisen condensations