Organic Chemistry II CHEM 224.

06 - Spring 2012 Brief Course Description

Instructor: Karen Phillips Contact Information: Room 803 East, Hunter East, kphil@hunter.cuny.edu, (212) 772-5382 Pre-requisites: CHEM 222LC - Organic Chemistry I Textbook: Organic Chemistry (10th Edition) by Solomons & Fryhle (Wiley) Format: Twice-weekly lectures plus an optional two-hour Workshop Class Goals and Meeting Times: This course is the second of a two-semester sequence of Organic Chemistry lectures. It follows on the material from CHEM 222LC, based on the first 12 chapters of the Solomons textbook, which covers bonding in carbon compounds, structureproperty relationships, relative strengths of acids & bases, stereochemistry, fundamentals of reaction mechanisms including nucleophilic substitution and elimination reactions, electrophilic addition to alkenes and alkynes, oxidation and reduction of organic compounds, as well as other functional group transformations. Students are also expected to be able to relate molecular structure to spectroscopic properties and use IR and NMR spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry to identify and differentiate between particular organic structures and functional groups. A clear understanding of this material is essential for success in Organic Chemistry II so it is recommended that students earn a C or better in Organic Chemistry I before proceeding to this second course. The aim for this second semester course is to cover a wider range of functional groups and their transformations in greater detail, culminating in the study of biologically relevant molecules. This corresponds to Chapters 13 through 24 of the Solomons textbook. The objective for each student should be to gain increased proficiency at predicting molecular behavior, designing the synthesis of complex products from simple starting materials, and identifying products of reactions based chemical, physical, and spectroscopic data while applying the fundamental principles learned in Organic Chemistry I. The class will meet for interactive lectures twice each week. In addition, there will be a weekly two-hour problem-solving Workshop. Workshops: In addition to the time allotted for lectures all students enrolled in this section of the course have the option to attend weekly Workshops. Although the Workshop sessions are optional, meaning that there is no credit associated with them, time is blocked off for them at registration for all students enrolled in this section so that potential conflicts with other classes can be avoided. In each Workshop session, students work in small groups, under the guidance of circulating Workshop leaders, to solve a set of relevant problems provided by the instructor. Following the small group discussions, representative students from each group present their solutions to the rest of the class. Other students are then free to ask questions and discuss alternatives before deciding if the response provided is complete and acceptable. Although no new material is introduced during Workshops, they provide a structured opportunity for students to practice and reinforce concepts covered in the course each week. In addition to the actual time for the Workshops, Workshop leaders assigned to this course

also hold weekly office hours at times convenient to themselves and the students in the class. This provides additional opportunities for students to get answers to questions and reinforce their understanding of what they are learning. Tips on Preparing for the Course: Like Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II is very challenging, and a strong performance in it requires consistent effort and problem-solving practice. It is strongly suggested that you familiarize yourself with the material by reading each chapter of the textbook BEFORE it is covered in class in order to make the lecture material easier to follow. Active participation in the Workshops is one way to help ensure that you do not fall behind in your understanding of the class material. The Workshop questions are available to all enrolled students and provide one resource for problem-solving practice in preparation for examinations. In addition, a list of recommended end-of-chapter problems and examples of previous exams from other semesters will be provided on the Blackboard site for this course. As mentioned above, Workshop leaders also hold office hours each week. If you find that you are having difficulty understanding any of the concepts, you should seek help from your instructor or from one of the Workshop leaders as soon as possible. Exams, Group Presentation Assignment & Grading: Examinations require students to solve many different types of problems. Included among these are usually a few multiplechoice questions, synthesis questions in which the reagents necessary to carry out chemical transformations or the products of those reactions must be provided, structure determination questions based on physical, chemical and spectroscopic evidence, and essay questions requiring explanations of relationships between properties and molecular structure. Grades for the semester will be based on three midterm exams (worth 100 points each), one final exam (worth 150 points), and a group presentation assignment (worth 100 points). Students are allowed to drop their lowest 100-point score, either for one of the three midterm exams or the group presentation assignment. As scores for the group presentation assignment tend to be very high, most students generally elect to replace their lowest midterm exam score with the score for the group presentation assignment. Grades for the semester will be computed using the best three 100-point scores and the final exam score for a possible total of 450 points. If a student elects not to participate in the group presentation assignment, then all three midterm exam scores will be used along with the final exam score to compute the overall grade for the semester. NO MAKEUP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN. If a student misses a midterm exam for any reason, that will simply count as a dropped grade. The grade for the final exam CANNOT be dropped. A complete description of the course grading policy as well as cutoff ranges for different letter grades will be published on the Blackboard site for this course. Academic dishonesty: The rules and regulations regarding academic dishonesty will be very strictly enforced in this course. If any form of academic dishonesty is observed or discovered, the student(s) involved will automatically earn zero points for the affected assignment and will likely be given an F in the course with a note stating Failed, due to academic dishonesty on their transcripts. Student(s) may also be subject to other disciplinary action according to Hunter Colleges Policy on Academic Integrity. For pre-health students such as those planning to apply to medical, dental or veterinary school, instances of academic dishonesty or other disciplinary action MUST be reported in their professional school applications. Reports of disciplinary action due to academic dishonesty will also accompany any documents submitted on behalf of students by the Pre-Health Advising Office at Hunter College. Hunter Colleges official Policy on Academic Integrity and a description of the various procedures for disciplinary action can be viewed at the following URL: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/advising/policies-sub/policies-academic-integrity