Organic Chemistry 241
Section
002 TTH 9-10:20 Fall 2005
Professor William
Dailey
Office:
Chemistry 551
Phone:
898-2704
E-mail:
dailey@sas.upenn.edu
Web-Page:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dailey/chem241.html
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-4 or by appointment.
Organic
chemistry is not a difficult subject but does require regular study
habits. It is extremely easy to get behind
in this
class, and
once behind it is extremely difficult to catch up.
You must be disciplined about your study habits.
You should read the chapters ahead of
time, attend lectures and note the points you have not understood. These must be clarified as soon as
possible as organic chemistry is a cumulative type of subject. The use of mechanisms helps to master
the material, but mechanisms should be understood rather than memorized. Cramming does not work well with this
subject. Questions should be
answered as soon as possible by the teaching assistants at the
recitations or
office hours. Problem solving is an essential part of the course and
problems
should be attempted before the answers are looked up.
In fact I suggest that you only look at the answer book
after you are sure that your answer is correct. Do not
memorize the answers but try to understand them. Always
read the questions carefully both in the homework and
on the exams.
RECITATIONS
Section Day
Time
Room
TA
220
M
11-12
DRL 2C8
Vlad
221
M
5-6
Chem 514
Vlad
222
W
3-4
Chem 514
Joel
223
W
5-6
Chem 107
Joel
Teaching
Assistants: Joel
Courter jcourter@sas.upenn.edu
Vlad Simov simov3@sas.upenn.edu
T.A Office
Hours
Joel Courter: Wednesday 4 -
5 (Chemistry Atrium, lower level)
Vlad Simov: Monday 1-2 (Room Chem 511)
The
main purpose of recitation is to answer questions and assist in problem
solving. It is not intended to be
a lecture format. You will get the
most out of recitation if you have read the material and tried the
problems
before going. Do not hesitate to
take advantage of the available help given in the recitation and office
hours.
EXAMS AND GRADING
There
are NO re-exams. No exams are dropped. However
in the cases of illness, death
in the family, etc., with an appropriate excuse, a student may be
allowed to
miss one midterm exam. Excuses
should be given before rather than after an exam.
Grading Policy.
The average for each exam will be roughly B-/C+, and pluses
and minuses will be given.
Normally it is expected that the sum of A's and B's will be
between
50-60%. However, classes do vary
and a very poor or very excellent class might be somewhat below or
above the expected
percentages.
Regrading. All
regrade requests must be received within one week from the time the exam is returned. To submit a regrade request, you must
submit your exam along with a separate piece of paper that includes the
correct
answer to the question and a written statement as to why your answer
should be
regraded. Questions must be
directed to the instructor, in writing, and given to him in person at
the
beginning or end of class. Answers
to exams will be posted.
Exams.
Exams will not be returned to students that have not properly
registered
within the drop-add period. These
students will not receive a grade.
Violations of the Code of Academic
Integrity. Any case of suspected
cheating on any
of the exams or on a regrade of an exam will be directed to the
Judicial
Inquiry Officer. Any student
found guilty of cheating will receive an F for the course and whatever action deemed necessary by
the Office
of Student Conduct.
Assigned Problems and Previous Year's
Exams: Unlike the policy in General
Chemistry, it is the
policy of the
Organic Faculty NOT to assign specific problems in the text. This is to encourage you to become a
more independent student and to develop your own unique study habits. As a general guide, I think it is
sufficient for you to do every third problem at the end of the text
WITHOUT the
help of the Answer Book. The biggest mistake that most students
make is to
rely too heavily on the Answer Book and to fool themselves into
believing that
they know the material. Old exams and answer keys will be
available online. DON'T study just
from the old exams!!
Add-Drop, Withdrawal, and Incompletes: The last day to drop the course is
Friday, October 10. Petitions for
withdrawal will not be granted after November 30. An
Incomplete will not be given in place of a poor
grade. If you are unable to take
the Final Exam and have a valid, documented excuse, you may take the
makeup
Final exam scheduled for the first week of the Spring term.
Textbooks:
The
required books are "Organic Chemistry" fifth edition by L. G. Wade,
Jr. and the corresponding "Solutions Manual" by J. W. Simek. If you find a used copy you may also
use the fourth edition but note that some of the chapters may have been
reordered.
Molecular Models:
Molecular models
facilitate visualization of molecules in three dimensions and are a
valuable
tool in understanding stereochemistry.
Students are allowed to use molecular models during the exams.
Proposed
Coverage
Chapter
1: "Introduction and
Review"
Chapter
2: "Structure and Properties
of Organic Molecules"
Chapter
3: "Structure and
Stereochemistry of Alkanes"
Chapter
4: "The Study of Chemical
Reactions"
Chapter
5: "Stereochemistry"
Chapter
6: "Alkyl Halides: Nucleophilic Substitution and Elimination"
Chapter
7: "Structure and Synthesis
of Alkenes"
Chapter
8: "Reactions of
Alkenes"
Chapter
9: "Alkynes"
Chapter
10: " Structure and Synthesis
of Alcohols"
Chapter
11: "Reactions of
Alcohols"
Chapter
12: "Infrared Sprectroscopy and
Mass Spectrometry"
Chapter
13: "Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy"