Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

CHEM 1020: Organic Chemistry I – Spring 2024

Credits - 3

Description

This is the first semester course of a two semester sequence of organic chemistry. This course is designed to give the student, interested in the health professions, an introduction to structure, reactivity, and analysis of organic molecules. Students will be introduced to organic structures (functional groups, nomenclature, stereochemistry, and conformations) and then learn carbonyl reactions (nucleophilic additions to ketones/aldehydes and nucleophilic substitution to acid derivatives).  Students will apply these topics to biochemical settings. Finally, the course ends with an introduction to spectroscopic analysis. These topics will prepare students for entrance exams in the health professions and will prepare students to understand important biological pathways that the student will encounter in his/her professional studies. In addition, this course will lay the groundwork for more advanced understanding of the chemical reactivity topics covered in Online Organic Chemistry II.

The course is designed to take lecture and lab concurrently for four credits. However, students have the option to take the lecture only (three credits) or lab only (one credit).

Course Prerequisite: Two semesters of college level general chemistry.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Program Outcomes

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

1. Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
2. Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
3. Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

In lab courses, students should be able to:

1. Ask a question or define a problem that can be tested.
2. Hypothesize possible result(s).
3. Plan and/or conduct an investigation individually and/or collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence.
4. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (i.e. computational, mathematical, graphical, etc.) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
5. Communicate the results by constructing an explanation based on multiple pieces of valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
6. Apply scientific ideas, principles, and/or evidence gained from various experiments, as well as other observations and/or research, to provide an explanation of phenomena and solve design problems, taking into account possible unanticipated effects.

Course Objectives

1. Classify organic compounds by functional groups. 
2. Predict acid-base chemistry of organic compounds.
3. Evaluate the 3D structure of small organic compounds (isomers, naming, conformations, and stereochemistry).
4. Articulate the factors that impact the nucleophilic addition to carbonyls, using curved arrows, reaction profiles, molecular orbitals, and thermodynamics.
5. Articulate the factors that impact the nucleophilic substitutions to acid derivatives, using curved arrows, reaction profiles, molecular orbitals, and thermodynamics.
6. Transfer an understanding of mechanism and intermediates to predict products of related reactions.
7. Explain catalysis of carbonyl reactions in both organic reactions and enzymatic reactions.Analyze data from IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy to determine the structure of small organic compounds.

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

Worksheets

Each week, you will explore the new topics through the readings, videos, and worksheets. The worksheets are a place for you to take notes, draw, and try to answer problems. The materials are designed to help you walk through key ideas for the week. You can read the texts or watch the videos or play a game while you are doing the worksheets. You might find it effective to move back and forth between these activities. In fact, some of the videos will work through examples in the worksheets! Research shows that active engagement can increase your understanding and retention of the materials. To that end, you are strongly encouraged to print each week’s guided worksheets out first to have them on hand while reading or viewing the learning materials. As they are a form of practice and engagement, you will receive points for completion alone.  If you are not understanding a topic through these materials, please contact the instructor!

Achieve Homework 

Each week, you will complete one or two short homework assignments in the Achieve system.  These homework assignments will be a chance for you to assess your understanding of the key concepts covered during that week.

In these activities, you can view hints without being penalized. You are also able to attempt each question multiple times, but be aware that you will receive a small penalty (5%) for each attempt after your first. Note that you can compare your attempts to chart your progress with a question and review your work. Finally, be sure to review the feedback that you receive to better understand the correct responses.  You will be able to see the correct answer after you have submitted your assignment.

Achieve Quizzes

You will complete four shorter quizzes in the Achieve platform. These quizzes will be 20 questions and you will have 45 minutes to complete each one. Each quiz will be worth 20 points. They will usually cover 2-3 weeks of material and will ensure that you are retaining the material as we progress through the semester.

Discussion Boards

There will be four discussion boards this semester. There is an introductory board to foster a sense of community. There will be two discussion boards on topics of metacognition (how to study and learn). The last discussion board will involve a project analyzing who can be a scientist.  

Activities

There are six activities in this course (and one optional extra credit activity!). These activities will ask you to apply the knowledge that you are learning. You will create a concept map and an infographic to help you create and communicate connections between related chemistry ideas. At the first mid-term, you will assess your learning strategies and set goals for utilizing new metacognitive strategies. There are two case studies that ask you to apply your knowledge to new medically relevant situations.  One final assignment will involve you recording a description of how you solved a spectral problem. 

Midterm Exams

You will complete two mid-term exams in the Achieve platform. These quizzes will be worth 50 points each. The exams will be 25 questions and you will have 60 minutes to complete them. You will have two exam attempts with the highest being kept. They will usually cover 3-5 weeks of material and will ensure that you are retaining the material as we progress through the semester.

Final Exam

This will be a cumulative exam.  It will be a timed and proctored exam. There will be approximately 50 questions.  You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam, and you will be allowed to use an approved whiteboard, as well as your modeling kit. You will have two exam attempts with the highest being kept. This assignment is worth 100 points toward your final grade. 

This exam must be taken through ProctorU. See UNE’s Online ProctorU Site for information about signing up and scheduling your exam. A UNE-compliant webcam is required (see the Course Materials section, above, for more information).

For proctored finals, grades will be posted 48-72 hours after taking the exams. At that time, you can expect an unofficial transcript.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment Category	Number of Assignments & Points	Total Point Values
Achieve Homework	12 x 10 pts, 8 x 5 pts	160 points
Achieve Quizzes	4 x 20 pts	80 points
Worksheets	14 x 5 pts	70 points
Discussions Boards	4 x 10 pts	40 points
Activities	Infographic (10 pts), Concept Map (10 pts) , Metacognitive Goal-Setting (10 pts), Case Study 1 (25 pts), Case Study 2 (20 pts), Spectral Video (20 pts), Meme (5 pts, extra credit)	95 points (+5 points extra credit)
Midterm Exams	2 x 50 pts	100 points
Final Exam	1 x 100 pts	100 points
Total		645 points

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00