Syllabus

Undergraduate Programs

CHEM 1030: Organic Chemistry I Lecture and Lab – Accelerated – 15 Week

Credits - 4

Description

This is the first semester course of a two semester sequence of organic chemistry. This course is designed to give the student a general understanding of how science contributes to their future profession and will prepare students for entrance exams in the health professions.  In addition, this course will lay the groundwork for more advanced understanding of the chemical reactivity topics covered in Online Organic Chemistry II and/or Biochemistry courses required for health-care professions.

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). Finally, the course ends with an introduction to spectroscopic analysis. The corresponding laboratory experiments will introduce laboratory techniques covered on most professional entrance exams and will reinforce key classroom concepts in the context of separation and purification techniques and an introduction to spectroscopy. 

The course is designed to take lecture and lab concurrently for four credits. 

Course Prerequisite: Two semesters of college level general chemistry.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives

Lecture

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.
8. Analyze data from IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy to determine the structure of small organic compounds.

Lab

1. Explore the theory and practice of using melting point determinations.
2. Predict solubility based on functional groups and IMF.
3. Demonstrate the theory & practice of recrystallization.
4. Demonstrate the theory & practice of chromatography.
5. Demonstrate the theory & practice of liquid-liquid extraction.
6. Develop a purification scheme for two organic structures using an acid-base extraction.
7. Determine a structure using melting point determination and spectral techniques.
8. Perform a nucleophilic addition reaction and nucleophilic substitution reaction. Use melting point and spectral analysis to determine the product and purity of the reactions.

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 weekly 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 25 points. They will ensure that you are retaining the material as we progress through the semester.

Achieve Midterms

There are two Achieve midterm exams in the course. The exams are not proctored and are worth 50 points each. You will have one hour and two attempts to complete the exam with the higher score counting toward your course grade.

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). One discussion board will involve a project analyzing who can be a scientist.  

Activities

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.  You will have the opportunity to complete an optional activity to set goals for utilizing new metacognitive strategies. One final assignment will involve you recording a description of how you solved a spectral problem. 

Laboratory Components 

All listed labs are required assignments for course completion- you may not elect to skip these assignments. Labs are an integral part to the learning competencies in this course. Purchasing the lab materials/kit and attempting all of the labs is mandatory.  

• Prelab Quizzes
  • Each week, you will complete the prelab quizzes to help understand the key foundational information that will be needed to complete the laboratory experiment.
• Laboratory Report 
  • Each week, you will complete one or two laboratory reports. You will analyze the data, formulate answers about the results of the experiment, and answer critical thinking questions.

Final Exams

There will be 2 exams. The Final Exam and a the Lab Practical Exam

These will be a cumulative exam.  They will be a timed and proctored exam. You will be allowed to use a whiteboard. You may also view this Periodic Table in an open browser tab (no printed copies allowed) as well as these NMR Tables and this IR Table.

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; 8 x 5 pts	160
Achieve Quizzes	4 x 20 pts	80
Midterms	2 x 50 pts	100
Worksheets	8 x 1 pts	8
Discussions Boards	4 x 10 pts	40
Activities	Infographic (10 pts) Concept Map (10 pts) Meme (5 pts, extra credit)	20
Prelab Quizzes	14 x 5; Intro 2	72
Lab Reports	14 x 25 pts	350
Combined Spectral Problem	1 x 20 pts	20
Final Exam	1 x 100 pts	100
Lab Final Exam	1 x 45	45
	Total	995

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	93 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 92.9%	3.75
B+	87 – 89.9%	3.50
B	83 – 86.9%	3.00
B-	80 – 82.9%	2.75
C+	77 – 79.9%	2.50
C	73 – 76.9%	2.00
C-	70 – 72.9%	1.75
D	60 – 69.9%	1.00
F	00 – 59.9%	0.00