Rules of the Day
Click here for a copy of my lecture notes from today's lecture
Click here for the handouts used in class today including the words to the songs we will sing
Click here for Vladimir Markovnikov, the man, the legend, the musical, the song!
If you have not already, you need to watch the On-line Office Hour from Thursday, December 1st. It will make the homework MUCH easier!
You should also watch the short video I made to clarify an important figure I used in the lecture last Tuesday, November 29.Click here for a copy of the roadmap template for reactions through Chapter 9
Click here for a copy of the filled-in roadmap for reactions through Chapter 9
Click here for a copy of the roadmap template for the entire semester
Click here for a copy of the partially filled-in roadmap for the entire semester
Click here for a short summary of the reactions
Click here for a more detailed summary of the reactions
Click here for the entire catalogue of blank mechanism sheets
Click here for filled-in versions of the mechanism sheets including roadmaps
1. Remember, you will need to write the following for 14 points on the final!
The popular medical diagnostic technique of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is based on the same principles as NMR, namely the flipping (i.e. resonance) of nuclear spins of H atoms by radio frequency irradiation when a patient is placed in a strong magnetic field. Magnetic field gradients are used to gain imaging information, and rotation of the gradient around the center of the object gives imaging in an entire plane (i.e. slice inside patient). In an MRI image, you are looking at individual slices that when stacked make up the three-dimensional image of relative amounts of H atoms, especially the H atoms from water and fat, in the different tissues.
[Memorize the preceding passage, as it will be worth 14 points on the first page of the Final, it was worth repeating] Click here for a handout on MRI.
You are not responsible for anything I presented today in class. However, you may be interested in the following publications, the ones I mentioned.
HIV drug development based on enzyme target mechanisms
3. "The only real valuable thing is intuition"...........Albert Einstein
4. "Understanding Where Electrons Are and knowing how to apply the Golden Rules of Chemistry will make Organic Chemistry class as simple as possible, and will give you Organic Chemistry intuition"............Fortune Cookie Saying
5. "Organic is really hard if you try to memorize it instead of trying to learn and understand it"............The Organic Vampire Monkey
Understand and learn. Do not only memorize!
6. The Golden Rules of Organic Chemistry explain most of what we will learn about organic chemistry.
7. The POINT of organic chemistry is synthesis; making complex molecules from simpler ones.
8. We have tried to prepare you for your later biochemistry courses by emphasizing key molecular principles that are important for the properties and reactions of the molecules of life.
HOMEWORK:
We are here, the end of the semester. Your last homework problem set is due Monday December 5, it covers NMR. Click here to get a copy. You will also find a synthesis practice problem set and a practice for the final there as well. You will not turn these in, they are there to help you prepare for the final. Homework 9 is your last official homework of the semester.
If you are struggling to catch the wave, please try the following.
1) DO THINGS, do not just reread things when you study. Generate things and have specific tasks to accomplish. That is the most efficient and effective way to learn!
A) Use your class note summaries as a primary source of information when preparing for exams. Throughout the semester, you should prepare summaries, in your own words, of your lecture notes in the form of outlines you generate. DO NOT just reread your lecture notes. See "3) Be the best student you can be all semester" below for more details. You need to be doing this during the entire semester. You might want to check out this reaction summary that many students find helpful as you review.
B) Watch lectures again and take notes to review what you do not understand. Use the Rules Of The Day as a guide to help you find which sections of old lectures you need to rewatch. Consider rewatching them at increased speed to save time. Previous classes say this really works.
C) Fill in blank mechanism sheets. Click here to get copies of blank mechanism sheets from the entire semester. This is the best way to learn mechanisms.
D) Fill in complete roadmaps from memory. Roadmaps put all the reactions you will learn in context. You will need to be able to fill one in from memory to make sure you know all the reactions, and how they work together during synthesis. Click here to get a blank roadmap template for all the reactions we will learn this semester. Click here for a filled-in roadmap that covers all reactions through Chapter 9. Click here for a partially filled-in roadmap with all the reactions after the 3rd midterm.
E) Practice working reactions backwards to help with synthesis. Study with a friend, and both of you should do the same thing. Write down a starting molecule, then carry out a reaction on that starting material. Write the product. Now using your roadmap as a guide, write as many different reactions as you need so that you cover the reactions in the roadmap. Show your friend only the products, and only look at your friend's products. Both of you then guess the starting molecules and reagents for each product. This is the best way to learn how to work backwords during synthesis problems.
2) AFTER you are finished with the above tasks, work through the old exams as your final preparation.
A) You need to know the material first, but research shows that practice exams are the MOST EFFECTIVE test preparation of all. We posted all of my previous exams (with and without answers) dating back to 2006 to help with your exam preparation. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! One caveat here is that the course material and emphasis has changed over the years, and it will continue to evolve. The most recent exams should be the most similar to the level and types of questions you will see.
Videos to help you prepare for the final. These videos walk you through all of the answers to the 2018 Final Exam:
Pages 1 and 2 from the 2018 Final
Pages 15 and 16 from the 2018 Final
Tips on How to Study for Synthesis Questions
Problem 23A Synthesis Question from Page 17 of the 2018 Final
Problem 23B Synthesis Question from Page 17 of the 2018 Final
Problem 23C Synthesis Question from Page 18 of the 2018 Final
Problem 23D Synthesis Question from Page 19 of the 2018 Final
Problem 23E Synthesis Question and Problem 24 from Pages 20 and 21 of the 2018 Final
