Chemistry 351 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I
Summer Session 2012, Winona State University

Credits: 5 semester hours. Prerequisites: Chemistry 350.

Lectures: Meet in Pasteur 329 every Monday and Thursday at 8:30-10:15 AM and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays at 10:00-11:45 AM.

Labs: Meet in SLC 386 every Monday and Thursday at 12:00-4:50 PM.

Instructor: Tom Nalli (Pasteur 350, 457-2476, tnalli@winona.edu)

Laboratory Teaching Assistant: Kevin Vickerman (KVickerman07@winona.edu)

Office Hours: Monday 10:30-11:30; Tuesday 8:30-9:30, 12:00-1:00; Wednesday 12:00-2:00; Thursday 10:30-11:30; Friday 8:30-9:30.

Virtual Office Hours: Students can email their questions every week night until about 10:00 PM and I will make every effort to respond in a helpful manner.

Required/Recommended Materials:*

- Organic Chemistry by David R. Klein; Wiley, 2011. ISBN-10: 0471756148 (required) 

- Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual to Accompany Organic Chemistry, by David R. Klein. (A copy of this manual will be available for checkout at the reserve desk in the library.) (recommended)

- WileyPLUS access. (This on-line learning site comes with the Klein bundle being sold at the bookstore.) (required)

- Techniques in Organic Chemistry, 3rd ed. by Mohrig, Hammond, and Schatz. Freeman, New York, 2011. ISBN-10: 1429219564. (required)

- Molecular Model Kit: Models help with the visualization of the three-dimensional nature of organic molecules, an essential part of this course. Thus, access to a molecular model kit is required for all students in the course. (required)

- Internet Access and Notebook Computer: This course requires all students to have Internet access. It is expected that students will monitor the course web page daily for important announcements. It is also expected that students will be able to access the on-line course content even when not on campus. (required)

- Laboratory notebook: Each three-member lab team needs a Carbonless Laboratory Notebook. (required)

*A note on textbook editions; you may be able to get through this course satisfactorily by using an earlier edition of one of the required textbooks. (For example, using the 2nd edition of Mohrig's Techniques in Organic Chemistry instead of the 3rd edition.) However, it will definitely take more work on your part to find specific reading assignments given during labs and lectures and in some places the coverage is significantly different between different editions....so use previous editions at your own risk.

Homework: Organic chemistry is a very difficult subject for most people. You will need to work hard in order to get an acceptable grade in the course. It is essential that you dilligently and independently practice the application of concepts. One important way to accompish this is by working the chapter-end questions in the Klein textbook. Your work on these book assignments will not be used for determining your grade in the course.

In addition, the on-line homework system, WileyPLUS, provides numerous opportunities for study and practice. The instructor will create a WileyPLUS assignment for each chapter in Klein and you will receive modest grade credit for completing these assignments in advance of designated due dates.

The main goal of all homework is to allow you to do well on the graded quizzes and exams that will form the main basis for your grade in the course. Therefore, it should be of great benefit to make every effort to keep up to date with both the WileyPLUS and the book assignments.

Grading:
A quiz will be given at the start of each lecture. Your average on the quizzes counts 10% toward the final grade for the course. The lowest two quiz grades will be dropped.

The WileyPLUS assignments count 5% toward your grade.

Four exams will be given, each counting 15% toward your grade.

Your score in the laboratory counts 25%.

Minimum Scores:
to pass course (D) - 55% | for a C grade - 65% | for a B grade - 77.5% | for an A grade - 90%

Exam Dates and Coverage:

Exam 1

Monday, June 25

 Chapters 12-14
Exam 2 Tuesday, July 3 Chapters 17-19
Exam 3 Thursday, July 12 Chapters 20-21
Exam 4 Friday, July 20 Chapters 22, 23, 27

Learning Outcomes: A student successfully completing the Chem 350/351 sequence will:

  • Understand organic nomenclature as evidenced by the ability to name a given structure according to IUPAC rules and the ability to draw the structure of a compound given its name.
  • Understand how structure influences physical properties as evidenced by the ability to predict trends in the physical properties, including boiling point, melting point, and water solubility, of a set of compounds.
  • Understand in detail how structure influences reactivity and reaction mechanism as evidenced by the ability to predict the main product (and its stereochemistry) of a given chemical reaction.
  • Have enough knowledge of reagents used for functional group transformations and carbon-carbon bond forming reactions to be able to propose reaction sequences that can be used for the synthesis of a given compound from simple organic building blocks.
  • Be able to deduce the structure and purity of an organic compound based on its NMR, IR, and/or mass spectrum.
  • Be able to carry out standard organic laboratory procedures including reflux, chromatography, extraction, recrystallization, distillation, and spectroscopy as needed to prepare and purify a compound.