Meeting Times & Places

Lecture (KH 471)

    MTWTh 10:20 - 11:20 am

Office Hours

    Monday 9 am - 10 am

    Thursday 3 pm - 4 pm

Course Info

Syllabus

Course Overheads

Supplemental Readings

Homeworks

Class Exercises

Practice Exams

Current Exams

MY CONTACT

Email: lbastin@widener.edu

Phone: (610) 499-4022

Office  Kirkbride Hall 469A

Course Description: In this course we begin are journey into the world of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry was traditionally defined as the study of substances isolated from living systems, but organic chemistry has expanded due to the ability of synthetic chemist to synthesize most any molecule and is now defined as the study of compounds containing carbon. While organic chemistry opens the door to the understanding of living systems including but not limited to protein chemistry and pharmaceuticals, organic chemistry is also the basis of materials chemistry which has given us such commercial materials as fiberglass, plastic, lasers, and computers to name a few. We will learn to control the formation and breaking of covalent bonds in order to produce chemicals with desired structures and properties. In this first semester course, we will form the foundation of our organic chemistry knowledge by looking at the past as well as the present states of organic chemistry. We will explore the importance of molecular orbital theory, three-dimensional structure and chirality, constitution, and conformation to chemical reactivity. Once we have these concepts mastered, we will begin to control the formation and destruction of covalent bonds in addition to common characterization techniques for organic molecules. Prerequisite: Chem 146 and 148

Course Goals: We have five major goals in this course: 1) to promote effective written and oral communication of chemical nomenclature and structures of organic molecules (the language of organic chemistry); 2) to promote a basic knowledge of the concepts of organic molecules and their relationship to mathematics and other sciences in order a) to compare theoretical calculations and experimental results, b) to obtain and interpret spectra, c) synthesize and characterize compounds, and d) to recognize how chemistry relates to other disciplines and society; 3) to develop problem solving and analytical analysis skills. This knowledge will be judged based on start-ups, exams, and class participation.