Organic Chemistry 201

Dr. S. C. Welch                                                                 
Office (SCI2-333) Hours: 10:00-11:00 AM MWF         
Phone: 750-4136                
e-mail: swelch@csusm.edu
Prerequisites: Chem 150 or the equivalent with a grade of C (2.0) or better

Textbook: "Organic Chemistry" J. McMurry, Brooks/Cole
Study Guide: "Study Guide and Solutions Manual for Organic Chemistry"
S. McMurry, Brooks/Cole
Lecture Notes: by S. C. Welch in the Bookstore
Molecular Models Recommended: Prentice Hall Model Set (Any good set will do.)

Chapter Title (Number of Lectures)

1* Structure and Bonding (2)
2* Bonding and Molecular Properties (1)
3 The Nature of Organic Compounds: Alkanes and Cycloalkanes (2)
Examination 1 (Ch. 1-3, 100 points) (1)
4* Stereochemistry of Alkanes and Cycloalkanes (3)
5 An Overview of Organic Reactions: Free-Radical Substitution (3)
Examination 2 (Ch. 1-5, 100 points) (2)
6* Alkenes: Structure and Reactivity (2)
7* Alkenes: Reactions and Synthesis: Electrophilic Addition (4)
8 Alkynes: Electrophilic Addition and Nucleophilic Substitution (3)
Examination 3 (Ch.1-8, 100 points) (2)
9* Stereochemistry (3)
10* Alkyl Halides (2)
11 Reactions of Alkyl Halides: Eliminations and Nucleophilic Substitutions (4)
Examination 4 (Ch.1-11, 100 points) (2)
12* Structure Determination: Mass and Infrared Spectroscopy (3)
13* Structure Determination: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (2)
14* Conjugated Dienes and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (1)
Examination 5 (Ch.1-14, 100 points) (2)

Organic Reactions: A Brief Review
Final Examination (Ch. 1-14, 350 points)

ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP EXAMS OR QUIZZES

HOW TO STUDY ORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN ORDER
TO EARN A GRADE OF A, B, OR C.

1. Take good lecture notes. You are responsible for everything that
I write or project on the board except "commercials."

2. Recopy all of your lecture notes into a large spiral bound notebook
within 2 days of the lecture topic. Concentrate on definitions, concepts,
pKa's, functional groups, structures, nomenclature, synthetic reactions,
stereochemistry, conformational analysis, and reaction mechanisms that
are in the lecture notes. Writing these facts in to a large spiral bound
notebook is equivalent to reading the material ten times!

3. Use your lecture notes as a guide to your reading in the textbook.
Do the reading assignment immediately after recopying all of your lecture
notes.

4. Solve the homework problems with the aid of the study guide within
3 days of the lecture topic. Doing the homework problems is the best
practice for the exams. This is how you develop the analytical/critical
problem solving skills to do well on the exams.

6. Keep up to date. If you get two weeks behind or you have a poor grade
by midterm you may want to consider dropping the class. It is impossible
to cram for this course.

7. The University Writing Requirement is satisfied by rewriting the lecture
notes, solving the homework problems, examinations and laboratory write-ups.

ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE UP EXAMS OR QUIZZES

Students who miss any examination will be given 48 hours to contact me
otherwise they will be assigned a grade of zero (F) on that exam.

Exam I -V                 500 points
10 Quizzes(*)            150 points
Final                          350 points (Fail the Final and you fail the course.)
total                         1000 points

 

Student Learning Outcomes for Administrators:

Student Learning Objectives for Understanding Organic Chemistry:

·        structure and nomenclature of organic molecules and functional groups (memory)

·        synthetic reactions and conditions (memory)

·        synthesis of organic molecules (critical thinking)

·        stereochemistry (memory & critical thinking)

·        conformational analysis and ability to draw and interpret cyclohexane and Newman conformers (memory & critical thinking)

·        12 basic reaction mechanisms by which most organic reactions occur (memory & critical thinking)

·        the determination of structure of organic molecules from chemical,  MS, IR, UV and NMR spectral data (critical thinking)

·        how to develop the inductive and deductive reasoning skills of organic chemistry by doing homework problems (responsibility & critical thinking)

From basic knowledge/information that students obtain in Organic Chemistry lecture, laboratory, and reading the respective textbooks they learn the following analytical/critical thinking skills:

·        How to make careful observations and accurate measurements of data.

·        How to organize observations/data sets.

·        How to interpret these observations/data sets.

·        How to determine the structure of organic molecules based upon the above and deductive reasoning skills they develop in doing the above.  This is much like solving a detective story based upon careful analysis of the evidence of a crime or diagnosing a disease by careful analysis of a patient’s symptoms.

·        How to summarize these observations and results succinctly in a scientific writing style.

·        How to solve homework (and quiz) problems based upon the above and deductive reasoning skills they develop in doing the above.

·        How to predict the chemical reactivity of each functional group in OChem.

·        How to synthesize organic molecules from common starting materials.