Chemistry 311
Organic Chemistry I
Instructor: Dr. Maher Mualla.
Office Hours: MWF at 1:00- 2:00 PM. Peelle Hall, Room 304 or drop in (I am usually available).
Method of Instruction: The course will be Web CT-based and will emphasize group learning. Class periods will include lectures to introduce new concepts and short sessions of group work to solve problems related to the new concepts. Students will be divided into groups of four students. Each group will be assigned a specific area in the class for group work during the semester.
Attendance: Since student absence disrupts the group learning process and affects other students in the group, attendance is required.
Text: Organic Chemistry; Structure and Reactivity by Seyhan Ege, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.
Readiness Assessment Tests (RAT): For group work to be productive and useful to all students it is essential that you read and comprehend the assigned concepts from each chapter before it is introduced in the class. Students are required to take an on-line RAT at the beginning of each chapter to test your readiness to participate in class activities related to the concepts covered in the chapter.
Exams: There will be Three individual exams, Three group exams and a comprehensive final examination. On group exams all group members will receive the same score.
Quizzes: There will be an individual quiz every week except for the weeks when exams are given.
Study Sheet: A study sheet for each chapter to help you recognize the concepts you are required to learn will be posted on-line (Web CT).
Homework: Homework will be assigned for each chapter and will be included in the study sheet of the chapter. Homework should be handed in on time. The due dates for homework will be posted on the Web CT calendar one week before the homework is due.
Grades:
RAT 80 points
Quizzes 100 points
Individual Exams 300 points
Group Exams 100 points
Final Exam 200 points
Homework 20 points
Total 800 points
Letter grades will be assigned based on the following scale:
700-800 points A
550- 699 points B
450- 549 points C
350- 449 points D
less than 350 points F
Suggestion about how to study for this course:
1. This course is about thinking not memorizing and guessing. The only material
you need to memorize is common names of organic compounds.
2. Use the study sheet to locate the assigned material from the textbook and
study it promptly. Try the in-chapter problems to test your understanding
of the material before you take the on-line RAT. Do not fall behind, it is
hard to catch up and the RAT will not be available after the first week of
introducing the chapter in class.
3. You should train your hand to draw structures. Drawing and redrawing the
structures of compounds as you are studying is the only way to do this.
4. To understand Organic Chemistry you should have the ability to visualize
the structures of organic compounds in three dimensions. By making and examining
molecular models of organic compounds you are studying you will gradually
improve this very useful skill. Make sure to have access to a molecular models
kit and use it regularly.
5. It is more productive to work on homework problem in-groups. It is also
useful to review for the exams in such groups.
6. Do not read problems from the solution manual. The solution manual is made
to check your answer or to give you a start point on how to work a problem.
7. Try to meet with me regularly, I might be able to give you helpful suggestions
of how to improve your performance.
Course Outline
Chapter 1. An Introduction to Structure and Bonding in Organic Compounds
Chapter 2. Covalent Bonding and Chemical Reactivity
Chapter 3. Reactions of Organic Compounds as Acids and Bases
First Exam.
Chapter 4. Reaction Pathways
Chapter 5. Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
Chapter 6. Stereochemistry
Second Exam.
Chapter 7. Nucleophilic Substitution and Elimination Reactions.
Chapter 8. Alkenes.
Third Exam.
Chapter 9. Alkynes.
Final Comprehensive Exam.