CHEMISTRY 234:   ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I:  Structure and Reactivity

FALL 2002 Lecture:  Tuesday and Thursday, 8-9:15 AM; RBH 239

Dr. Herman Holt Jr. 

      Office:  RH 231, 232-5167 

            Lab:  RH 247, 232-5045

Email: hholt@bulldog.unca.edu

   

Office Hours:  M-R-- 9:30-10:30 AM

  The purpose of office hours is to provide set hours to be available to you.  It is wise to take advantage of this opportunity.  While the instructor has set office hours, other times may be arranged to discuss course material. 

  Objectives:  All organic chemists, regardless of their particular area of expertise or interest, need to either understand or be able to accomplish two very important tasks — the construction of carbon-carbon bonds and the manipulation of functional groups. Organic Chemistry I and II are designed to provide a basic understanding of the covalent bond and the chemistry of carbon compounds. By the end of the first semester students should be comfortable with the concepts of structure, nomenclature, conformation, stereochemistry, resonance, and aromaticity. They should also recognize the various functional groups that are common to most organic molecules and begin to understand and appreciate some of the reaction processes that are specific to those functional groups. Additionally, it is expected that students will have at least a basic understanding and working knowledge of the important spectroscopic methods (NMR, IR, and UV) that are used for structure identification. By the end of the second semester students should have a general understanding of all of the common organic functional groups and major theoretical concepts. A familiarity with the classic reactions used to incorporate and convert functional groups within organic molecules is also expected.  They should have a preliminary appreciation of the intricacies and nuances of synthesizing target molecules, and will have had the opportunity to design strategies of their own. Also, an increased understanding of the methods of structure identification and their application is expected.

  Required Materials: 1) Paula Yurkanis Bruice, 3rd ed. Organic Chemistry, Prentice Hall Publishing.

                                    2) Course Compass, Prentice Hall.

3) Bruice, 3rd ed., Study Guide and Solutions Manual for Organic Chemistry, Prentice Hall Publishing.

4) Spectral Problems, Set 1, by Dr. Richard A. Tomasi

Optional Material:  1) Daniel P. Weeks, 3rd ed. Pushing Electrons:  A guide for students of Organic Chemistry, Wiley Publishing

                                    2) Molecular Structure Model, C Set for Org. Chem, Freeman Pub.


Grading:          

                        Category Weights:  

                        Homework                               50   points 

                       Quizzes - 10                              200 points  

                        Exams - 4                                400 points

                        Lab                                          250 points

                        Final Exam                               300 points

                        Total                                        1200 points  

    

                A minimum of 65% of lab points must be obtained for the opportunity to receive one of the following grades:

                        A:             92 % of 1200 points                         A-:            88

                        B+:            84                                                     B:            80                         B-:            76

                        C+:            70                                                     C:            65                        C-:            60

                        D:            50

Recommended Process to Pass Organic Chemistry: 

a)      Prepare for lectures by reading the chapters relating to the topics to be covered. 

b)      Attend the lectures. 

c)      Recopy your own notes into an alternate notebook.

d)      Do the problems. 

e)      Attend office hours.

f)        Do the problems

g)      Ask questions pertaining to the notes, problems, and lectures. 

 

The above suggestions are to be taken as a package deal for passing the class.  Selection of a few of the suggestions may not be as effective.  Experience has demonstrated that to truly learn chemistry, one must do chemistry.  In a lecture setting, this means that students must do problems. Simply listening to lectures, reading books, and studying notes does not get the job done. Problems must be worked out. Time must be spent participating in the process of discovery and learning.

 

Attendance:  See "Suggestions to Pass Organic Chemistry", part b.  It is your responsibility (and to your benefit) to obtain the missed material and information in the event of your absence from class.   

Examinations:  There will be four (4), 1 hour and 15 minute, closed book and closed notes exams during the course of the semester.  Exam dates for Fall 2002 are: 09/12, 10/03, 11/07, and 12/3 (“hour” exams).  The final exam will be 12/10.  All exams must be taken on the designated day and at the designated time unless prior arrangements** are made with the instructor. Failure to do so will result in a zero being recorded for that exam score. No make-up exams will be given.

**(See guidelines under Cancellations and Make-ups.)

Quizzes:  There will be 12 quizzes given during the course of the semester.  Each quiz will be an on-line quiz through Course Compass.  There will be a quiz for each chapter covered this semester.  Quizzes for each chapter covered, must be taken prior to each exam period.  Quizzes are to be worked on alone, with no help from ANYONE.  We are on the Honor System, as discussed in the UNCA Catalog. 

Homework:  It will be highly advantageous if you work the problems within each chapter as you read the chapter.  It also will be very helpful if you work the problems at the end of each chapter.  It is required that you complete the “suggested problems” for each chapter, listed on the last page of this syllabus, and turn them in to me upon my request for full credit. 

Help Sessions:  Several "help sessions" will be scheduled throughout the semester if your effort warrants them. They are not meant to be supplementary lectures or discussions in which a few people do the work for everyone else in attendance. Active participation by all those present will be required.

            I am willing to offer you as much help as I can outside of the classroom. However, you must ask for this help and it will be commensurate with the effort you have given. One of my responsibilities at UNCA is to TEACH you Organic Chemistry and that requires an effort on your part. Your attendance at help sessions and at office hours is an excellent way to help your grade and to indicate the personal effort required for special assistance.

Cancellations and Make-ups:

UNCA, as a State agency, is expected to provide its service to the public according to its announced calendar and schedules.   Therefore, the presumption is that all classes will be taught during inclement weather.   On occasion severe weather condition may make it dangerous or physically impossible for teachers and learners to get to campus.  The VCSA is charged with making the judgment about canceling classes under these conditions. 

            Each individual student, in the event that classes are not canceled, must assume the personal responsibility of deciding to go to class or not when local road conditions appear too hazardous.  In such cases students should inform their instructors as soon as practicable. 

            The notice that classes are to be canceled or delayed will be broadcast on all local radio stations normally by 6 a.m.  The absence of any notice from UNCA signifies that classes will be taught as usual.  Cancellation notices about evening classes will be provided to the radio stations as soon as practicable after 4 p.m.   

            The above guidelines have been taken directly from the latest edition of the UNCA Faculty Handbook and serve as the general course policy concerning inclement weather.  Policies specific to the different types of assignments are as follows:

1.  The instructor may schedule additional class meetings with attendance required if weather conditions have forced cancellation of the equivalent of one full week of class meetings.  

2.  Exams missed because of class cancellation, will be postponed until the next available class period. 

     If classes are not canceled and a student misses an exam, no make-up exam will be given and a zero will be recorded for the score.  However, if the student meets with the instructor within one week of returning to school, points corresponding to the percentage scored on the appropriate portion of the final exam will be substituted for the missed exam score.  Failure to meet with the instructor within this time period will result in a zero being permanently recorded.

    Exams missed because of a student's attendance of an authorized school function may be taken at an alternative time if, and only if, prior arrangements are made with the instructor to "make-up" the exam.  While all efforts will be made to accommodate the student's schedule when selecting a time for this make-up exam, it is ultimately up to the student to accommodate the instructor's schedule.  Failure to do so will result in the exam being treated as if it were missed because of an unauthorized function.  

3.  Written notice prior to an absence for an authorized school function must be given to the instructor for the student not to be penalized for that absence.  

Honor System:

This course will be conducted utilizing the concepts embodied in an Honor System.  Your awareness and acceptance of the Honor System will be indicated by your signature in addition to your printed name on all work submitted to me for evaluation.  Work submitted to me without a signature will not be evaluated.  It will be recorded as a zero and returned so that you may sign and resubmit it for evaluation.  Appropriate action will be taken against those found to be in violation of the Honor System (see Academic Responsibilities under Student Responsibilities in the UNCA Catalog).  

**any person with a disability must contact the disability services office**

 


CHEMISTRY 234                                                                                                                             ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

  ORDER OF TOPICS COVERED

 

Chapter 1 -- Electronic Structures and Bonding; Acids and Bases

Chapter 2 -- An Introduction to Organic Compounds: Nomenclature, Physical Properties and Representation of Structure

Chapter 6 -- Electron Delocalization and Resonance

Chapter 12 -- Mass Spectrometry, Infrared Spectroscopy, and Ultraviolet/Visible Spectroscopy

Chapter 13 -- NMR Spectroscopy

Chapter 4 -- Stereochemistry: The Arrangement of Atoms in Space; The Stereochemistry of Addition Reactions

Chapter 8 -- Reactions of Alkanes: Radicals

Chapter 9 -- Reactions at an sp3 Hybridized Carbon I: Substitution Reactions of Alkyl Halides

Chapter 10 -- Reactions at an sp3 Hybridized Carbon II: Elimination Reactions of Alkyl Halides; Competition Between Substitution and Elimination

Chapter 11 -- Reactions at an sp3 Hybridized Carbon III: Substitution And Elimination Reactions of Compounds with Leaving Groups Other Than Halogen; Organometallic Compounds

Chapter 3 -- Reactions of Alkenes; Thermodynamics and Kinetics

Chapter 5 -- Reactions of Alkynes; Introduction to Multistep Synthesis

 

Suggested Problems:  

Chapter 1:  Problems 47-69.

Chapter 2:  Problems 34-52.

Chapter 6:  Problems 13-31.

Chapter 12:  Problems 32-34, 36-41, 43, 45, 47, 49-53, 55-56, 58-59; see also Tomasi problems.

Chapter 13:  Problems 36-63; see also Tomasi problems.

Chapter 4:  Problems 49-81

Chapter 8:  Problems 14-25

Chapter 9:  Problems 30-51

Chapter 10:  Problems 28-56

Chapter 11:  Problems 37-69

Chapter 3:  Problems 49-84

Chapter 5:  Problems 20-37