CHE 230, Organic Chemistry I

University of Kentucky -- Department of Chemistry

Spring 2008

Syllabus

 

Class Meetings:      CHE 230-001: MWF 9:00 – 9:50, CP-139

                            

Professor:              Joseph W. Wilson

                             Office:  CP-305 (an office shared with three other faculty members; I’ll be there during office hours)

                             Email:  mailto:jwilson@uky.edu (I check my email often; it’s the best way to reach me; please put CHE 230 in the subject line)

                                    Office Phone:  859-257-7085 (This phone has no answering machine and will be answered by me only when I’m in the office.)

                             Office Hours:   To be announced

                                                   At other times by appointment

 

Textbook:               Organic Chemistry by Janice Gorzynski Smith (second edition) and a set of molecular models.

 

Recommended:      Student Study Guide/Solutions Manual for Smith

                             Pushing Electrons (third edition)

 

 

Course Content    This course is the first part of a two-part introduction to the principles of organic chemistry, the chemistry of the compounds of carbon.  The content can be classified as structure, reactivity, and synthesis.  You will learn how atoms are joined together in organic compounds, how their structure affects their bulk properties, how we gain information about the structure of unknown organic compounds, and how organic compounds are transformed into other organic compounds. Prerequisite: CHE 107. 3 credits.

 

Grading        

Weighting of Grade Components

 

Letter Grade Assignments*

Homework

10%

 

A

85 – 100%

First Exam

22%

 

B

75 – 84%

Second Exam

22%

 

C

65 – 74%

Third Exam

22%

 

D

55 – 64%

Final Exam

24%

 

E

< 55%

                                                                                                                 * I reserve the right to lower these

                                                                                                                    cutoffs, but I will not raise them.

Revised Final Exam Grading Procedure   (4/21/08)

The final exam will be subdivided into four sections that correspond to material covered on each of the three exams given in the course, and one that includes material covered in lecture since Exam 3, i.e. chapter 12 of the textbook.  A grade for each part will be recorded.  On the final examination, if the grade on that section corresponding to the examination with the lowest grade is improved, that section grade will be substituted for the original examination grade. The original weighting of the grade components is unchanged and, as of this writing, I don’t plan to change the original letter grade assignments.

 

Exams  The four exams in the course will be given during the regular class meeting time (9 – 9:50 a.m.)

               February 6                     First exam

               March 5                         Second exam

               April 16                         Third exam

               April 30                         Final exam: 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.

       If for some reason you have a valid academic conflict with any of these common exam times, you must notify me at least two weeks before the exam is to be given.  In accordance with University procedures, you must provide written notice, and this must be done for each exam with which you have a conflict. An alternate exam time that fits the schedules of all of the excused students will be arranged, possibly in the early morning or at a time that overlaps with the scheduled times above. If you have a job and your employer expects you to be working during one of the exam times, arrange to take time off or arrange for someone else to work your shift for you.  Spring Break plans are not a University approved excuse for missing an exam.

       Students may miss one exam if they have a documented, excused absence that conforms to the University Senate Rules.  (The 2007-2008 University Bulletin (‘the catalog”) defines a valid excuse for a missed exam on page 65.)  The documents must be presented within a week of the missed exam.  Make-up exams will not be given for these students.  The student who misses one exam for a legitimate (excused) reason will have the two remaining hourly exams and the final exam each count for 30% of the grade.  Students with two documented, excused absences will have their final exam count for 50% of their grade.  Students who miss three or more exams or the final exam for any reason will receive an “E” unless the dean of their college permits them to withdraw.  Students who miss an exam without an excuse will receive a zero for that exam at my discretion.  If you miss an exam for any reason, even an undocumented one, please discuss the circumstances with me.

       A seating chart will be posted before each exam.  Please arrive at your assigned room and be in your seat at least five minutes before the beginning of the exams.  Be prepared to show your student identification (or other photo ID) at the exams.  The exams will emphasize material covered since the last exam, but since new chemistry builds on old chemistry, command of the older material will be necessary.  All exams are cumulative.  Copies of exams from previous years will be posted on the course web site.

       All exams will be returned to you after they have been graded.  Please check them over for addition mistakes.  If you were marked down for an answer you think was correct, submit it to me with a brief written argument.  Oral requests for regarding will not be entertained.  Requests for regrading must be received within one week of the return date. If you change an answer and then ask that it be regraded, you have cheated and will be liable for the minimum penalty of a zero on the exam and one lower letter grade for the course, in accord with University rules.  Selected exams will be photocopied in order to minimize this temptation.  All graded work must be entirely your own.  Attempts to claim another person’s work as your own is forbidden and will be dealt with in accord with University regulations.

       You will not be permitted to bring molecular models or calculators to the exams.

       The date of the second exam is March 5.  It will be returned before March 7, the last day to drop the course, so you will be able to use it if you are thinking about dropping.  Mid-term grades are due on March 3, so they will be based solely on the grade on the first exam.

 

Course Website  is located at http://www.chem.uky.edu/courses/che230/JWW/welcome.html. This course website should be consulted for links to the Syllabus, Homework, Exams, Grading and several Chemistry Department websites.

 

Homework  The homework will be online at the Prentice–Hall ACE (hereafter ACE@PH) website (http://aceorganic.pearsoncmg.com/lite/login.jsp).  Information about how to get started may be found at the homework website. Also at that site are some important comments about traditional homework from the textbook.

 

Significant Dates

                      January 15             Last day to add a class

                      January 21             Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday – no class

                      February 6              Last day to drop

                      February 6              First exam in class

                      March 5                 Second exam in class

                      March 7                 Last day to withdraw

                      March 10-15           Spring Break

                      April 16                  Third exam in class

                      April 25                   Last class

                      April 30                  Final Exam (8:00 – 10:00 a.m.)

 

Advice

1.       Attend every lecture.

2.       Read and think about each chapter before the lecture.  If you try to memorize without learning to use the information, this course will be very frustrating for you.  On the other hand there are a number of facts that you are expected to know.

3.       Do not fall behind.  The pace is brisk; the course is relentless.  Cramming before exams doesn’t work for most people.

4.       Write as you read.  Draw structures and reactions as you read about them in the book or your notes.  Any term or concept that is less than completely clear should be reviewed immediately before going further.

5.       Get out your model kit and build structures.  Be sure you can translate 2-D drawings into 3-D structures.  Practice drawing common organic structures and be sure you can interpret your own drawings.

6.       Work all the problems in the book.  Practice makes perfect.  If you want to claim that you understand the material, be prepared to demonstrate your proficiency by solving problems.  Before each exam be sure that you can correctly complete lots of problems without looking at the answer book first.

7.       I am eager to help.  In addition to my office hours (see above for times), I can arrange to be there to meet with you at other times if we can find a mutually agreed on time.  Suggest some times by email or after lecture and I’ll let you know when I can make it.  Your lab TA (in CHE 231) is another source of help.  Attend your TA’s office hours for help in CHE 230.

8.       Review your General Chemistry textbook and notes.  Chemistry is cumulative.  If you have learned the material in your General Chemistry course, you will find that Organic Chemistry is largely an extension of some the same basic principles.