Homework (44 % of final grade):

Point Break Down

Total

Class Participation (3 %):

q       Attending class, being involved in classroom discussions, asking questions in class, attending office hours AND exhibiting an obvious interest in the course.

q       Simply attending class and being civil.

q       Missing class and/or being disruptive

6 pts every 2 weeks

Þ       5 - 6 pts

Þ       3 - 4 pts

Þ       0 - 2 pts

30

Recommended Problems (0 %):

q       These questions will help you learn, understand and practice organic chemistry.  These are only recommended and as such will not be collected nor graded; however, please do them and bring them to office hours to discuss them.

0

Weekly Peer-lead Team Learning Workshops (8 %)

q       The most effective way for learning organic chemistry is by doing practice problems in an environment conducive to learning.  As a result, we will have weekly mandatory Team learning workshops.  During this time, students will work on workshop specific, instructor designed problems in order to develop a better understanding of how to do organic chemistry.  The most important aspect of the workshop program is for each student to actively engage in the solving of problems.  In order to help facilitate this, a peer-leader, someone who has successfully completed the course recently, will help students work together using various groups and activities to understand and solve the problems.  THIS PERSON WILL NOT PROVIDE THE ANSWERS, but rather will encourage students to prove it to themselves and her that their answer is correct.  The problems from this workshop will be provided during the workshop and will not be collected or graded.  The content, however, is appropriate for assessment via exams.  This program (for which we have received funding from the NSF) is a proven method for helping students learn organic chemistry and should effectively reduce your workload in the course.  If you are interested in becoming a peer-leader for next year’s organic course, please let me know by mid April.  Times of workshops TBA.

10 pts each week

q       10 pts for actively participating in the entire session

q       5 pts for not participating with the workshop material

q       0 pts for missing all or some of the session.

80

Problem Sets (16 %):

q       These questions will resemble the type of questions contained on the exams.  The problem sets will be collected on Wednesday at class time (9:00 am) the week before the tests.  The problems set will be graded based on your overall understanding of the material in question.  As substantial partial credit will be given, it is extremely important that you show your work on your homework.  In organic, it is more important to think properly, show proper problem solving skills and present a sound argument rather than obtaining the "right answer".  I would almost go so far as to say that the answer does not matter and that the process by which you arrived is the only thing of importance.  Never the less, you must work the problems completely, show your work and arrive at the desired answer to receive full credit. Some of the questions will be challenging. I do not expect you to be an expert on answering questions when you start the class, but I do expect that you will work hard on these problem sets.  If you have questions, PLEASE ASK.  Do not work on these problem sets in a vacuum or on the night before they are due.

40 pts each

160

Literature Assignments (8 %):

q       As organic chemistry is a constantly growing and changing field, it is important that you learn how to explore the current scientific literature.

Þ       Literature Assignment 1(Due March 5):  Find an article in an appropriate organic chemistry journal that is related to a topic we covered in class during the previous three class periods (see webpage for a list of appropriate journals).  Read the abstract, introduction and conclusions and skim the article.  In a 1 – 3 page paper, write about why the authors conducted the research, what fundamental questions were being investigated, what thesis statement the authors present, what conclusions were drawn and how this information is pertinent to the class.

Þ       Literature Assignment 2 (Due April 2):  Using one of the three articles provided by Dr. Stoub (see webpage), read the abstract, introduction and conclusions and skim the article.  Find one set of experimental results that supports the author’s thesis statement.  It may be worth your while to come and talk to me about this.  Read the portion of the article that discusses this experimental result.  In a 1 – 3 page paper, discuss how the set of experimental results supports the author’s thesis.

40 pts each

80

Reaction Mechanism Paper (9 %):

q       One important aspect of organic chemistry involves understanding how researchers investigate how a reaction works.  Toward that end, each student will research a particular reaction and explore the scope, mechanism and practical applications for this reaction.  The scope of a reaction defines the type of molecules that can be reacted under the reaction conditions.  The mechanism explains how the reagents cause the reaction to occur.  The practical application refers to how this reaction has been used for some relevant purpose.  The main focus of this article will be on the mechanism of the reaction.  It is the responsibility of the student to find a reaction of interest from an appropriate organic chemistry journal.  The student will “follow the paper trail” in order to discover when the reaction was first discovered and how researchers have subsequently studied the reaction and, therefore, suggested a mechanism for the reaction.  This may require a literature search of related journal articles.  The student will analyze how the researchers have experimentally investigated the mechanism and report on their findings.  The paper will be a 4 – 5 page paper discussing the scope, mechanism and practical application of the reaction.

90 pts

90

Tests (56 % of final grade):

q       All tests will be identical in format.  Each test will be cumulative but will focus on the material presented in class and readings during that portion of the semester.  The cumulative nature is one of the biggest challenges of organic chemistry; all the material builds upon itself; therefore, do not get behind!

q       There will be two major sections to each test. 

§         Section 1:  Questions will focus on basic reactions and concepts.  This section will include a couple of multiple choice questions to prepare you for the final exam.

§         Section 2:  Questions will focus on using basic understanding and knowledge to solve problems.  These questions are designed in such a way that the first part of the question should be elementary, the middle sections will explore your understanding of the concepts and the final part will ask you to apply what you know to a new and unknown problem.

§         Section 3:  Retrosynthetic analysis, synthesis or mechanism determination.

q       You must be present at the time of the test as there will be no possibility to make up a test. If, however, a serious event occurs that precludes your attendance to the exam, YOU MUST contact me before the exam starts. We will then work together to allow you to make up for the missed test. If you simply do not show up, you will receive a 0 for the test.

q       The final exam is a multiple-choice, standardized exam from the American Chemical Society.  There are several multiple choice type of questions in your book; I would encourage you to practice using these problems.

Each Test = 115 pts.

Final exam = 100 pts.

All Tests are at 6:00pm on Monday evenings.

q       Test 1 (Feb 23)

q       Test 2 (Mar 15)

q       Test 3 (April 12)

q       Test 4 (May 3)

q       Final (Sat, May 15, 10:30 – 12:30)

560