Chemistry 351 - Principles of Organic Chemistry I
Summer Session 2014, Winona State University

Credits: 5 semester hours. Prerequisites: Chemistry 350.

Schedule:
The course runs from Monday, July 7 through Friday, August 8, 2014.
Lectures - Pasteur 329 MTWHF 10:00-11:45 AM.
Labs - SLC 386 MTWH 1:00-4:00 PM.

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

Laboratory Teaching Assistant: Alix Overgard (AOvergard10@winona.edu)

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00-10:00; 12:00-1:00.

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 4th Edition by Janet Smith; McGraw Hill, 2014. (required) 

- McGraw Hill Connect access. (This on-line learning site comes with the Smith 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 their email 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 Carbon-less Laboratory Notebook. (required)

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 diligently and independently practice the application of concepts. One important way to accomplish this is by working the chapter-end questions in the Smith 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, Connect, provides numerous opportunities for study and practice. The instructor will create a Connect assignment for each chapter in Smith 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 Connect 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 ConnectPlus assignments count 5% toward your grade.

Four midterm exams will be given, each counting 10 or 15% (see below) toward your grade.

An optional comprehensive final exam will be given on the last class day and if it helps your grade I will count it 20% toward your grade (with the midterm exams counting 10% each). (If you do poorly or decide to not take the final it counts 0% and the midterms count 15%.)

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 Tentative Coverage:

Exam 1

Monday, July 14

 Chapters 14-17
Exam 2 Monday, July 21
 Chapters 17-18, 27
Exam 3 Tuesday, July 29
 Chapters 19-22
Exam 4 Thursday, August 4
 Chapters 23-25
Final Exam Friday, August 8
 Comprehensive

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.