Course Syllabus

CHEM 2310 Organic Chemistry I

Course Description

CHEM 2310 is the first semester of a full-year course in organic chemistry, which is the study of the structures and properties of compounds primarily composed of carbon and hydrogen. Reactivity is studied in the context of mechanism patterns associated with functional groups, with emphasis on synthesis and biochemical applications. This course is required for all chemistry-centered majors, most pre-professional programs, and many life science majors, and is commonly taken in the second year of study.

Justification

Organic chemistry is taught by chemistry departments at USHE institutions. It is a two-semester sequence that is numbered as CHEM 2310 for the first semester and CHEM 2320 for the second semester at USHE institutions. It is required for all chemistry-based majors and many pre-professional programs; some programs require only the first semester. This course will provide a thorough foundation in organic structures, reaction mechanisms, and elementary synthesis methods.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify the nomenclature, physical properties, chemical reactivity, preparation, and use in synthesis of common organic functional groups.
2. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to interpret and draw structures of organic molecules using a variety of representations, such as skeletal structures, Newman projections, Fisher projections, cyclohexane chairs, etc., and transform structures given in one representation into a different representation while maintaining correct regio- and stereochemistry.
3. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to correctly describe relationships between chemical structures, such as resonance contributors, tautomers, various types of isomers, and reactant-product transformations.
4. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to write correct curved arrow formalism mechanisms for foundational organic reaction types in isolation and as components of a moderately complex overall molecular transformation.
5. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to analyze the synthetic utility of foundational organic reaction types and be able to construct multi-step synthesis pathways for moderately complex molecules.
6. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to apply principles of chemical reactivity and structure analysis to predict the major and minor products of organic reactions.
7. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to integrate spectral and reaction data to determine the structure of an unknown compound.

Course Content

Chemistry 2310 is the first semester of a full-year introductory organic chemistry course. This course provides a fundamental and foundational description of the properties and behavior of carbon-based molecules, which are the primary constituents of all known living systems and many materials upon which modern lifestyles rely. Topics and concepts will be presented such that they build upon one another, with later topics reinforcing and developing concepts introduced with earlier topics. The following topics are typically covered in the first semester: structure and bonding; elementary molecular orbital (MO) theory; acid/base properties of organic molecules; the arrow-pushing formalism for electron motion in a reaction mechanism; functional group identification & nomenclature; physical properties of organic molecules; conformational analysis; isomerism; chirality & stereochemistry; elementary reaction kinetics and thermodynamics; electrophilic addition to alkenes and alkynes; substitution and elimination reactions of alkyl halides; substitution and elimination reactions of alcohols, ethers, epoxides, amines, and thiols; use of the aforementioned reactions in simple synthesis of organic compounds.Depending on choice of textbook, the following topics may be taught in either the first semester or the second semester: resonance delocalization & aromaticity; reactions of dienes; radical halogenation of alkanes; radical addition to alkenes; radical substitution at benzylic and allylic positions; use of radical reactions in synthesis; organolithium and organomagnesium compounds; transmetallation; organocuprates; palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions; mass spectroscopy (MS); ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis) spectroscopy; infrared (IR) spectroscopy; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.