Organic Chemistry 241

Section 004 Major's Section 10:30-11:50  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/chem241maj.html  

Office Hours: Thursday 3-4 or by appointment.


Organic Workshops Information
Announcements, Exam Keys, etc
Answer key to exam 1 is here. Mean was 94/150, sigma of 20.
Answer Key to exam 2 is here.  Mean was 81/150, sigma of 24.
You may review and submit any regrade requests for (but not keep or copy) your final sometime during the Spring semester by visiting the Undergraduate Chemistry Secretary, Amanda Swope, in room 553 between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30.


 

                  Organic chemistry is not a difficult subject but does require regular study habits.  Since this course only meets one night a week, 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


Recitation is scheduled for Mondays, 8 am in Chemistry room 514


Teaching Assistant:  Howie Bregman  hbregman@sas.upenn.edu

                         Office hours Wednesdays, 5:30pm in Vagelos 2000
 

                  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 will be two 80 minute exams worth 150 points each and one cumulative final exam worth 150 points. 
The dates are:
        Tuesday, October 11, 2005
        Tuesday, November 22 2005
        FINAL --  Wednesday,  December 14, 2005 – 9:00 –11:00 am

 

                  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" sixth 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 fifth edition since it's almost the same.

 

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"