Lecturer: James S. Chickos

Chemistry 261

Office: B435

Intersession 2000

Office hours: by appointment

General remarks:

Chemistry 261 is the first of a series of courses dealing with the study of organic chemistry. This course focuses on the structure, nomenclature and reactions of organic molecules. Chemistry 261 and 262 form the core of the first year of study of organic chemistry. Satisfactory completion of Chemistry 12 or its equivalent is the prerequisite to Chemistry 261.

Students experience varying degrees of difficulty with this course. The course covers a great deal of material. In addition, it does so in a language that will at first appear foreign. The study of chemistry is a cumulative process. Study the subject matter in organic chemistry as you would a foreign language and your difficulty with the subject matter will be significantly reduced. The following suggestions may help: try and read the material in the text before coming to class; work out the problems that are suggested; keep track of what you don’t understand and ask questions, either in or out of class. At least one problem on each examination will be taken directly from the suggested problems. Work out more problems related to those suggested if possible.

The three dimensional aspects of molecular structure is an area of organic chemistry that gives some students difficulty. Most of the material (from the text and blackboard) is presented in two dimensional representations. Conventions are adopted in class to simulate the third dimension. To minimize any difficulty you may experience with the three dimensional aspect of molecular structure, I strongly encourage you to acquire a set of molecular models (any set will do). You can share a set (and the cost) with another student in the class. They can be sold to others after you have completed this course. These models may be used during examinations.

Answers to the problems assigned and other materials will be made available on the web. To access this material, go to any computer on campus, run your web browser and go to www.umsl.edu/~jscumsl/261/. The material will be available in pdf format. Computers on campus have Adobe Acrobat or its equivalent so it should be possible to view, download and/or print the documents. Supplemental material and models are available on reserve in the Thomas Jefferson Library.

Grades in this course will be determined by three hour exams and a comprehensive final. The third hour exam will be given at the time of the final. Each hour examinination and the comprehensive fine will be worth 125 pts. Final grades in the course are curved.

Text: "Organic Chemistry", 2^nd Edit., P. Y. Bruice, Prentice Hall

Any set of Molecular Models
 

Week of     Chapter     Suggested Problems

May 15  Chapter 1:         1, 4, 6, 8, 14, 19, 32, 37-39, 43, 45, 48, 55

                              2           1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 21, 22, 26, 30, 31, 35, 36, 41, 45.

May 22                 3           4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 32, 37, 38, 39, 42, 47, 48, 50, 52, 53, 56, 57, 63, 68, 79.

                               4           3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 19, 20, 23, 24, 28, 29, 33, 43, 44, 53, 55, 56, 60, 71, 82

May 26             Exam 1     Chapters 1-3

May 29                5             2, 3, 7, 10, 18, 19, 20, 23, 35

                             6             3, 4, 9, 13, 23, 31, 33, 34, 38,

June 5                 7             2, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 27, 34,

                            8             5, 17, 18 21, 23, 24

June 9             Exam II     Chapter 4-7

June 19             9             1-3, 7, 12, 17, 20, 22, 23, 31, 34, 44, 46

June 12            10           2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, 19, 27, 28, 33

June 19            11           2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 20, 25, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 45, 51, 62, 65

June 23         Final Exam (9:00-11:00 AM) Ch 8-11: 125 pts; Ch 1-11: 125 pts-Final Exam