Course Syllabus
Welcome to Chemistry 51A! Please check out the information in the Course Syllabus below, ideally before the start of lectures. We're looking forward to teaching you Organic Chemistry!
CHEM 51A (Organic Chemistry) Syllabus Spring 2022
Class Format
This course will be in person, with standard lectures. The lectures will be recorded and posted to the class Canvas page, in the event that you are unable to attend, or simply wish to review the lecture material. All exams will be in-person.
Instructor
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Professor Christopher Vanderwal, Ph.D. Department of Chemistry
Office Hours: Tuesdays at 2–4 pm PST in person in FRH 4042 CANCELLED after week 3 in favor of in-person: Tuesdays at 3 pm PST (by zoom, https://uci.zoom.us/j/97289835050; Meeting ID: 972 8983 5050) |
Teaching Assistants
Note: email is the best way to get in touch with the TAs outside of office hours.
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Jane Supantanapong Vanderwal Group, Department of Chemistry
Office Hours: Monday 2:00–3:00 pm, FRH 4042
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Griffin Barnes Vanderwal Group, Department of Chemistry
Office Hours: Thursdays 3:00–4:00 pm, FRH 4042
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Hours
Lectures:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 am to 12:20 pm in SSH 100.
Discussion Sections
Participation in a weekly discussion section is mandatory, and you must attend the discussion section for which you are registered. In each discussion section, there will be problems provided that are based on the recent class material, and the problems will be similar in style to those that you might find on the midterm and final exams. The solutions will be discussed. These sessions provide opportunities to practice exam-type problems. Discussion section attendance will not be part of the course grade.
Discussion sections will begin in week 2:
- Mondays at 8:00–8:50 am [40601]: Jane
- Mondays at 10:00–10:50 am [40602]: Griffin
- Mondays at 3:00–3:50 pm [40603]: Griffin
- Tuesdays at 10:00–10:50 am [40604]: Griffin
- Tuesdays at 1:00–1:50 pm [40605]: Jane
- Wednesdays at 8:00–8:50 am [40606]: Jane
Textbook and Resources
Required: Janice Gorzynski Smith’s Organic Chemistry, 5th or 6th Ed. from McGraw Hill. Note that the 3rd or 4th edition would make a suitable replacement with respect to information content for 51A; however, any references made during class to specific page numbers or problem numbers might not match correctly with these earlier editions. I will largely follow the flow of and make reference to the 5th edition in the lectures. I recognize the financial advantages to buying older editions, and encourage you to do so to save money. There is also an online e-textbook version available.
Highly recommended: Smith & Smith’s Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual to accompany Organic Chemistry, 6thEd. McGraw Hill. Clearly, if you are using the 5th edition textbook, you should have the 5th edition study guide, etc.
For a particularly inexpensive alternative, you might use LibreTexts, which has an open-access "version" wherein learning modules match the chapter sections in the Smith text. It is not a perfect match, and some explanations of key concepts and most examples/problems are different.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Map%3A_Organic_Chemistry_(Smith)
It is best practice to read the textbook sections prior to watching the video lecture for that section. Then, when you go back to do the text problems, the concepts will be further reinforced. You will benefit tremendously!!!
Molecular Models
A molecular model set is required for this course. Darling Molecular Vision Model Sets (http://www.darlingmodels.com (Links to an external site.)) are recommended: Kits #1 or #1A (Organic, Organometallic, and Inorganic Model Set) or Kit #3 (Organic Model Set) are appropriate. One such set is available at the bookstore and can also be purchased online. These will help you understand structure and stereochemistry. Have your models available during your discussion sections. For a very useful video tutorial on how to use this model kit, please see:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHHhjkTSYNQ (Links to an external site.)
If you don't have/can't get this model kit, here is a link for a free virtual model kit app. I've not used it, but I hear that it's pretty good. https://www.alchem.ie/modelar/game (Links to an external site.)
Reading
It is best practice to read the textbook sections prior to attending the lecture for that section. Then, when you go back to do the text problems, the concepts will be further reinforced. You will benefit tremendously!!!
Attendance
Attendance in lectures is strongly encouraged; however, if you are feeling at all ill, you are encouraged to stay home and watch the lecture videos that will be posted on the class Canvas site.
Grading
Your final grade will be calculated using your scores from the following, and the Instructor reserves the right to change the weighting of the grades.
Weekly Lecture Quizzes via Canvas (~10%)
Two Midterm Exams (~25% each)
Final Exam (~40%)
Exams
All exams will be in-person.
Midterm 1: Thursday 21 April, in lecture time (11:00 am–12:20 pm), contents of Chapters 1–3.
Midterm 2: Thursday 12 May, in lecture time (11:00 am–12:20 pm), contents of Chapters 4–5.
Final: Tuesday 7 June, 10:30 am–12:30 pm, comprehensive.
Makeup Exams: There are no makeup exams. Similarly, there will be no opportunities to take the exams at any other time than those listed above. Excused absences on a midterm for reasons of illness or other significant events will result in your final exam taking on the additional weight of the missed midterm exam. Unexcused absences will result in a grade of zero. The final exam is mandatory. You cannot pass this class without taking the final exam. The instructor must be notified in writing for any excused absences due to illness, etc.
Regrades
Policies for regrade requests will be communicated to you at the appropriate times.
Weekly Quizzes
There will be a weekly Canvas quiz covering the lecture material. The total value of these quizzes will be about 10% of your total grade (~1% each).
Outline
We will cover the following chapters in the text (at an approximate rate of about one chapter per week):
Chapter 1: Structure and Bonding
Chapter 2: Acids and Bases
Chapter 3: Introduction to Organic Molecules and Functional Groups
Chapter 4: Alkanes
Chapter 5: Stereochemistry
Chapter 6: Understanding Organic Reactions
Chapter 13: Mass Spectrometry and Infrared Spectroscopy
Chapter 14: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
[note that in the 6th edition, the author called the contents of Chapters 13 and 14 "Spectroscopy A, B, C"]
I changed the order from the original version of the syllabus, where Chapter 6 used to be the last one.
Assigned problems
Working through many problems is essential for success in organic chemistry. Assigned problems for each chapter are posted on the class Canvas site in the "Getting Started" module. These problems will not be collected or graded; it is up to you to make sure that you are doing the work.
Piazza
This quarter we will be using Piazza. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from classmates, the TAs, and Prof. Vanderwal. Rather than emailing questions to the instructors, I encourage you to post your questions on Piazza. If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com.
Instructions can be found in the "Getting Started" module. Find our class link at: piazza.com/uc_irvine/spring2022/chem51a; access code: chem51a
Tips for Success
- Work hard. At first you may feel swamped but if you keep up the hard work things will become clearer.
- Study regularly. Study a little every day. Recopy your notes, do problems from the book, practice putting together your models to visualize the molecules we discuss in class, make flash cards and study keys. Organic chemistry is notoriously hard to successfully “cram” for.
- Do lots of problems. There are many problems in the text, in addition to the problems that I provide on the website. Do as many as you can. Practice really does make perfect.
- Work alone—at least at first. Working in groups is often beneficial; however, to gain the most from the experience it is important to spend time working on the problems on your own before joining a study group.
- Read the text before watching the lecture videos. You will comprehend the subject material in class much better if you read the corresponding material in the text first.
- Put some real effort into discussion worksheets. If you spend time with them in advance, you will get a lot more out of the discussion sections.
- Don’t fall behind. Here’s some brutal honesty: if you fall far behind, it will be almost impossible for you to catch up in this ten-week class.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is strictly enforced on exams, homework, and other aspects of this course. Academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade and a letter in the student’s file. For details, see:
https://aisc.uci.edu/students/academic-integrity/index.php
UCI Disability Services Center
DSC provides services to students with documented permanent and temporary disabilities. Services include reasonable accommodations, auxiliary aids, and individualized support services based on your disability documentation, functional limitations, and a collaborative assessment of needs. Testing accommodations are one specialized service that the Disability Services Center provides. However, under the current circumstances, the types of accommodations that are relevant are different from normal, and evolving. Please see their website for more information: https://dsc.uci.edu
Preferred Names & Pronouns
If you have a preferred name and/or pronouns, we're happy to use them. Just let us know! (Professor Vanderwal's pronouns are he/him/his.)
Financial Challenges, Life Emergencies, etc.
Everyone encounters challenges in life. If you find yourself dealing with a serious challenge that impacts your class participation, please let us know so we can come up with a plan to help. This can include medical emergencies, mental health challenges, family situations, immigration emergencies, financial challenges, or any other situation that dramatically impacts your ability to complete the class.
If you find that you are having to choose between purchasing your textbook/electronic tools for the class and buying food or paying rent, please talk to Prof. Vanderwal. We have resources available to help with this!
Adding/Dropping/Enrollment
For information on the course add/drop deadline, please see the Chemistry department website (https://www.chem.uci.edu/StudentAffairs#lab.courses) or email chemistry@uci.edu.
This course is provided by The University of California, which has policies regarding copyright. Materials used in connection with this course may be subject to copyright protection. Refer to the information provided in each video/file/module/unit for copyright information for each work.
Course Summary:
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