"A" are used for isotropic hyperfine coupling constants, while "B" is usually employed for anisotropic hyperfine coupling constants. In many cases, the isotropic hyperfine splitting pattern for a radical freely tumbling in a solution (isotropic system) can be predicted. Multiplicity For a radical having M equivalent nuclei, each with a spin of I, the number of EPR lines expected is 2MI + 1. As an example, the methyl radical, CH3, has three 1H nuclei, each with I = 1/2, and so the number of lines expected is 2MI + 1 = 2(3)(1/2) + 1 = 4, which is as observed. For a radical having M1 equivalent nuclei, each with a spin of I1, and a group of M2 equivalent nuclei, each with a spin of I2, the number of lines expected is (2M1I1 + 1) (2M2I2 + 1). As an example, the methoxymethyl radical, has two equivalent 1H nuclei, each with I = 1/2 and three equivalent 1H nuclei each with I = 1/2, and so the number of lines expected is (2M1I1 + 1) (2M2I2 + 1) = [2(2)(1/2) + 1] [2(3)(1/2) + 1] = 3×4 = 12, again as observed. The above can be extended to predict the number of lines for any number of nuclei. While it is easy to predict the number of lines, the reverse problem, unraveling a complex multi-line EPR spectrum and assigning the various spacings to specific nuclei, is more difficult. In the often encountered case of I = 1/2 nuclei (e.g., 1H, 19F, 31P), the line intensities produced by a population of radicals, each possessing M equivalent nuclei, will follow Pascal's triangle. For example, the spectrum at the right shows that the three 1H nuclei of the CH3 radical give rise to 2MI + 1 = 2(3)(1/2) + 1 = 4 lines with a 1:3:3:1 ratio. The line spacing gives a hyperfine coupling constant of aH = 23 G for each of the three 1H nuclei. Note again that the lines in this spectrum are first derivatives of absorptions. As a second example, the methoxymethyl radical, H3COCH2. the OCH2 center will give an overall 1:2:1 EPR pattern, each component of which is further split by the three methoxy hydrogens into a 1:3:3:1 pattern to give a total of 3×4 = 12 lines, a triplet of quartets. A simulation of the observed EPR spectrum is shown and agrees with the 12-line prediction and