Syllabus

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week 1

Aug 23rd: 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?
Aug 25th: Lab 01 - Structure in Organic Compounds: Use of Molecular Models I (21)
I suggest you purchase a model kit. My personal recommendation is a kit supplied by Prentice-Hall. Prentice Hall Molecular Model Set For Organic Chemistry There are also various programs to help you visualize molecular structure. Chem Sketch is an excellent program.

week 2

Aug 30th: Alkanes
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.
Sept 1st: Lab Check-In and Lab 02 - Classification and 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 3

Sept 6th: Labor Day
Sept 8th: Alkenes and Alkynes
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.

week 4

Sept 13th: Benzene and its Derivatives, 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.
Sept 15th: Lab 03 - Classification and Identification of Alcohols and Phenols (25)
Ever wonder how breathalyzers work?

week 5

Sept 20th: Exam One
Lecture: Chirality
Read Review of Stereochemistry (pdf) from Regis Technologies.
Sept 22nd: Lab 04 - Stereochemistry: Use of Molecular Models II (22)
Read An Adventure in Stereochemistry: Alice in Mirror Image Land (pdf)
Not all molecules that are chiral have chiral centers - read about these oddities.

week 6

Sept 27th: Acids and Bases: What affects the relative strengths of organic acids?
Biological Buffers play an extremely important role in our lives.
Sept 29th: Lab 05 - pH and Buffer Solutions (18)

week 7

Oct 4th: Amines
Oct 6th: Lab 06 - Properties of Amines and Amides (28)

week 8

Oct 11th: Aldehydes and Ketones
Read about Aldehydes and Keytones in a Virtual Textbook by William Reusch
Oct 13th: Lab 07 - Classification and Identification of Aldehydes and Keytones (26)

week 9

Oct 18th: Carboxylic Acids
Polar and non-polar compounds can often be separted using the technique of extraction shown in this video. After products are separated a common next step is recrystallization as shown in this video.
Oct 20th: Review and Practice for Exam Two
Derivatives of Carboxylic Acids

week 10

Oct 25th: Lab 08 - Preparation and Properties of a Soap (34)
Oct 27th: Exam Two

week 11

Nov 1st: Carbohydrates
Nov 3rd: Lab 09 - Carbohydrates (32)

week 12

Nov 8th: 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.
Nov 10th: Lab 10 - Isolation of Casein from Milk (40)
An article: What is casein discusses the use of casein in paint.
Note: November 15th is the last day for student initiated withdrawal

week 13

Nov 15th: 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
Nov 17th: Lab 11 - Isolation of Caffeine from Tea Leaves (31)

week 14

Nov 22nd:
Nov 24th: Exam Three

week 15

Nov 29th: Enzymes
Dec 1st: Chemical Communications: Neurotransmitters and Hormones
Please read the case study: The Campus Coffee Shop: Caffeine Conundrums by Wendy Heck, Andrea Novicki and Brian Rybarczyk
Learn about Percy Julian - Forgotten Genius

week 16

Dec 6th: Review for Final Exam
Laboratory Check Out
Dec 8th: Final Exam