A type of chemical reaction in which the atoms of a single compound recombine, usually under the influence of a catalyst, to form a new compound having the same molecular weight but different properties. Thus ammonium cyanate in solution will rearrange to form urea, in which the four hydrogen atoms are equally distributed between the two nitrogen atoms: NH4OCN → (NH2)2C═O. Many such rearrangements have been named for their discoverers, e.g., Beckmann rearrangement.See Wohl Degradation.