Chemistry 212

week 1

Jan 14th: Course Overview & Alkanes

Visit the Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry: Alkanes for some interactive practice on this topic. Where do we obtain alkanes? What are some differences between alkanes with low molecular weights and alkanes with high molecular weights?

Jan 16th: Lab 01 - Structure in Organic Compounds (21)

I suggest you purchase a model kit. My personal recommendation is a kit supplied by Prentice-Hall. View it on Amazon.com. There are also various programs to help you visualize molecular structure. Chime is worth installing so you can view various moledules in 3D. Chem Sketch is also an excellent program.

week 2

Jan 21: Dr. King's Birthday (holiday)

Jan 23: Alkenes and Alkynes

Many educators have prepared web pages with excellent information and exercises. Here's a web page about hydrocarbons from Australia's Launceston College. You may find this video showing gasoline fumes released at the pump interesting.

week 3

Jan 28: Benzene and its Derivatives

Note: wikipedia may be edited by the public and therefore any information found there should be independently verified.

Please read about diradicals. Watch a video about the magnetic properties of oxygen. Be prepared to explain why oxygen is in a triplet state.

Jan 30: Lab 02 - Identification of Hydrocarbons (24)

We will be using 1% bromine (Br₂ in cyclohexane) and 1% aqueous potassium permanganage KMnO₄ (baeyer's reagent) in this lab. We are going to observe color changes as shown in this virtual demonstration and in these videos.

week 4

Feb 4th: Alcohols, Ethers, Thiols

Ever wonder why natural gas smells bad? It isn't the methane. The odor is caused by an additive: methane thiol or methyl mercaptan. Organic compounds containing sulfur often have strong smells.

Feb 6th: Lab 03 - Identification of Alcohols and Phenols (25)

Ever wonder how breathalyzers work?

week 5

Feb 11th: Exam One

Lecture: Chirality

Read Review of Stereochemistry (pdf) from Regis Technologies.

Feb 13th: Lab 04 - Stereochemistry (22)

Read An Adventure in Stereochemistry: Alice in Mirror Image Land (pdf)

week 6

Feb 18th: Acids and Bases

Feb 20th: Lab 05 - Acid-Base Properties of Amino Acids (39)

week 7

Feb 25th: Amines

Feb 27th: Lab 06 - Properties of Amines and Amides (28)

week 8

March 3rd: Aldehydes and Ketones

March 5th: Lab 07 - Identification of Aldehydes and Keytones (26)

week 9

March 10th: Carboxylic Acids

March 12th: Exam Two

Spring Break: March 17th to March 22nd - No classes

week 10

Lab 08 - Preparation and Properties of a Soap (34)

March 24th: Derivatives of Carboxylic Acids / Carbohydrates

week 11

March 31st: Carbohydrates

April 2nd:Lab 09 - Carbohydrates (32)

week 12

April 7th: Lipids

The Lipid Library's webpage All about Lipids has numerous articles on all aspects of lipids. The Lipid Library is produced and maintained by Dr. William W. Christie MBE, retired head of the chemistry department at The Scottish Crop Research Institute.

April 9th: Lab 10 - Isolation of Casein from Milk (40)

An article: What is casein discusses the use of casein in paint.

week 13

April 14th: Proteins

Please visit the world wide protein databank and read about their mission and explore the data they have available. Also please visit Rosetta@home, a project to determine the 3-D structure of protenins using distributed computing. Also, please enjoy Inner Life of a Cell

April 16th: Lab 11 - Isolation and Identification of DNA from Onion (43)

week 14

April 21st: Enzymes

April 23rd: Chemical Communications: Neurotransmitters and Hormones

Please read the case study: The Campus Coffee Shop: Caffeine Conundrums by Wendy Heck, Andrea Novicki and Brian Rybarczyk

week 15

April 28th: Exam Three

April 30th:

week 16

May 5th: Review for Final Exam

May 7th: Final Exam