Syllabus 26100

City College of New York

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

CHEM 26100

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I

__________________________________________________________

Prerequisites:       Chem 104.01 (a grade of C or higher is required)

Hours/Credits:      4 hours lecture per week, 3 credits

_____________________________________________________________________________

Textbook: Organic Chemistry by David Klein, 3rd edition (ISBN 978-1-119-32052-4)

Study Guide/Solution Manual by Klein, and Live Chat with Wiley representatives are available at: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-826665.html

Dr. Darling’s Molecular models are available at the CCNY bookstore and at http://www.darlingmodels.com/KIT #1 ISBN 0-9648837-1-6).

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course is the first of a two-semester sequence. The objective of the course is to provide introduction to organic chemistry, via discussion of reactivity, key reaction mechanisms, retro synthetic analysis, and structure determination via IR and MS. The course strives to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills.

TOPICS COVERED

Review of some General Chemistry: Bonding, Lewis and resonance structures, Formal charges, structural formulas,  isomers, atomic/molecular orbitals, orbital hybridization

Review of some aspects in General Chemistry
Functional groups, Curved Arrows

Carbocations, Nucleophiles/Electrophiles,

Acid/s and Bases

Alkanes/Cycloalkanes

Stereochemistry
Nucleophilic Substitution & Elimination Reactions
Alkenes

Alkynes
Radical Reactions
Synthesis

IR Spectroscopy/Mss spectroscopy

COURSE OUTCOMES

What you should know:

·       Write Lewis structures, resonance forms, acid/base structures, hybrid orbitals, constitutional

         isomers, cis/trans isomers, and use IUPAC nomenclature

·       Write Newman and Fischer projection formulas .and write correct cyclohexane conformations. Assess the stability of  substituted cyclohexanes

·       Stereochemistry: Recognize and write structures for  chiral and achiral molecules, (R) and (S) configurations, enantiomers, racemates, diastereomers, meso compounds

·       Write mechanism for S_N1, S_N2, E1 and E2 reactions. Predict the products of the substitution and elimination reactions including stereochemistry.

·       Predict the products of carbocation rearrangements, dehydration, dehydrohalogenation and dehalogenation reactions.

·       Predict the products of additions, oxidations, reductions and cleavages of alkenes, including regiochemistry and stereochemistry. Acetylide ions in the synthesis of alkynes. Predict the products of additions, oxidations, reductions of alkynes. Predict the  products of hydration, hydroboration, and hydroxylation of alkenes. Use Grignard reagents for the synthesis of alcohols. Reaction of alcohols and pinacol rearrangement of diols.

·       Predict the mechanism and products of radical reactions

·       Interpret infrared and mass spectra of an unknown compound.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attend class to benefit from the problem solving sessions/quizzes incorporated into the lectures.

Do NOT attend this class if you are not registered into CHEM 26100 Section LM 37915

Any student who misses five classes will be dropped from this course with a WU grade.

CCNY attendance policy: Students are expected to attend every class session of each course in which they are enrolled and to be on time. An instructor has the right to drop a student from a course for excessive absence. Students are advised to determine the instructor’s policy at the first class session. They should note that an instructor may treat lateness as equivalent to absence. No distinction is made between excused and unexcused absences. Each instructor retains the right to establish his or her own policy, but students should be guided by the following general College policy: In courses designated as clinical, performance, laboratory or field work courses, the limit on absences is established by the individual instructor. For all other courses, the number of hours absent may not exceed twice the number of contact hours the course meets per week. When a student is dropped for excessive absence, the Registrar will enter the grade of WU.

COURTESY POLICY

Noise, excessive chatter, use of flash light, and  unauthorized electronic equipment is NOT allowed in the classroom.

DISABILITY POLICY

In compliance with CCNY policy and equal access laws, appropriate academic accommodations are offered for students with disabilities. Students must first register with The AccessAbility Center for reasonable academic accommodations. The AccessAbility Center is located in the North Academic Center, Rm. 1/218.  Tel: (212) 650-5913 sds@ccny.cuny.edu . Under The Americans with Disability Act, an individual with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. If you have any such issues, visit the AccessAbility Center to determine which services may be appropriate for you.

EXAMS & GRADING POLICY

There will be three 90 minute exams during the semester of which you should take at least two. There will NOT be any Make-up exams. If you take all three exams your lowest exam score will be dropped while computing your grade. If you take only two of the 90 minute exams, both scores will count towards your grade. Missing an exam will result in receiving a zero grade for that particular exam and thus dropping that grade. These three exams will account for 60% towards your final grade, the Final Examination for 40%. A make-up for the Final Examination will be offered only under compelling circumstances (see under Department INC grade policy).  The Final Examination will cover ALL CHAPTERS (1-12 and 14) studied.

The final grade is calculated as follows:

Best two scores of the three in-class examinations        (60%)

Final Exam                                                                   (40%)

In class BONUS points  (maximum 5 Points) will be added to your total when computing your grade. For example, your total is 87/100, but you earned 3 BONUS Points, therefore your total is 90/100, and you achieved a grade of A.           

TEXTBOOK PROBLEMS: The assigned problems are a very important part of the course. You are responsible for ALL problems, within and at the end of each chapter. If you can do the problems, you should  do well on the exams.          

DEPARTMENT “INC” GRADE POLICY:

Makeup exam for INC grades in Chemistry courses will be completed no later than two weeks after the end of classes. INC may be assigned to students who have a passing grade in the course but who are unable to take the final examination.  A passing grade is computed by averaging all examinations / assignments which include a zero grade for missed examinations. A student must have a very good reason (such as a conflict with another scheduled examination, death of spouse, injury sustained in a catastrophic incident, etc., and {proof is required}) for missing the scheduled final exam and be given an INC grade.   If the reason is not forthcoming, then a letter grade of F should be assigned.  An Incomplete Grade Agreement form must be signed by the Instructor before the student is allowed to take the makeup exam.  Payment of a fee at the Bursar's office is required in order to take the makeup examination.  The Registrar may waive the fee if the reason for granting an INC grade is conflict with another scheduled examination. 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The CCNY policy on academic integrity will be followed in this course. The document can be found at: http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/current/integrity.cfm In addition, the Policy on Academic Integrity can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin 2007-2009 in Appendix B.3 on page 312.

All students must read the details regarding plagiarism and cheating in order to be familiar with the rules of the college. Cases where academic integrity is compromised will be prosecuted according to these rules. If you receive a zero on an exam as a result of cheating, all of your exams will be used to calculate your final grade.

Allowing the student to do extra work after the final grade has been awarded: A student offers the instructor many reasons why the academic work submitted during the semester was not an adequate representation of his/her grasp of the course content.  The instructor agrees to read the extra work and change the grade, if the work is warranted.  Although similar to the above situation in that the student is being allowed to do work after the course is over, this scenario differs in its details.   This arrangement presents two problems:  firstly, it is unfair to those students who have not been offered such an opportunity and have completed coursework sufficiently and on time; secondly, it circumvents the mandated appeals process.   Consequently, it is a violation of the academic policy of the school.

Allowing the student to negotiate a grade: A student does no extra work after the award of a final grade, yet he/she bases a campaign for a higher grade on the sheer force of an argument.  The higher grade may be wrested from the professor by the brilliance of the student’s debate or by the latter’s subtle but persistent erosion of the instructor’s strength of refusal.  As the instructor is paid for his/her expertise in a field, they are expected to exercise competency in his/her determination of an appropriate grade for a student. Consequently, it is a violation of the academic policy of the school.