Rules of the Day
1-16-2024
Click Here for a copy of the lectures notes I wrote in class
Click here for a copy of the handouts I used in class today
1. THE POINT of this class and of organic chemistry is synthesis - making new molecules such as pharmaceuticals. We learn and understand mechanisms to allow the prediction of reactions as well as their regiochemistry and stereochemistry.
2. A second point of the class is to learn organic chemistry concepts that will be important for your later education in biochemisty and the biological sciences.
3. Each reaction is a chemical "tool", to be used to construct molecules. Learning mechanisms provides a means for you to understand the reactions.
Understand and learn. Do not only memorize!
4. You should come to class everyday. A previous class was analyzed and going to class was worth one letter grade.
6. "Organic is really hard if you try to memorize it instead of trying to learn and understand it"............The Organic Vampire Monkey
7. "The only real valuable thing is intuition"...........Albert Einstein
8. The most important question in chemistry is: "Where are the electrons?" The answer is that electrons are generally in higher amounts around the more electronegative atoms (e.g. F, Cl, O, N) of a molecule. Knowing where electrons are allows you to understand chemistry as opposed to simply memorizing flashcards. See today's "pictures of the day" (POTD) for a more in-depth explanation of how you should think about molecules so that you truly understand them.
9. The eleven golden rules of organic chemistry explain most of what we will learn about organic chemistry
10. "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
11. "Organic Chemistry is like surfing a big wave. Work hard early and you are set for the semester. Falling behind is like falling off the board. It is really hard to get back on the wave once you have fallen!" …….. A Guy with a Trumpet and a Computer
12. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler"...........Albert Einstein
13. The best way to learn how to use the different reactions for synthesis is with a "roadmap".
14. "Education is what's left after what you've learned has been forgotten" ……James Conant among others
15. Mechanisms describe movement of electrons in chemical reactions.
16. Arrows are used to show movement of electrons (not movement of atoms directly). They must start on an electron source (lone pair or bond) and end on an electron sink (an atom that can accept a new bond or lone pair).
17. Breaking a bond will occur to avoid overfilling a valance.
18. The majority of reaction mechanisms we will see in this class will be composed of logical sequences of the four common elementary mechanistic elements: 1. Make a bond between a nucleophile and an electrophile, 2. Break a bond to give stable molecules or ions, 3. Add a proton, and 4. Take a proton away. Note that 1. is the reverse of 2. and vice versa, and 3. is the reverse of 4. and vice versa.
Homework:
If you are new to my class, you might want to take my old CH320M/CH328M final (from 12-10-22). This will give you a calibration regarding your preparation for this class. Click here for a copy of the old CH320M/CH328M final. My class average on this exam was right around 79% on this final. (GREAT JOB shout out to my Fall of 2022 class by the way!!!) Click here for a copy of the same final exam with answers.
Read: Sections 15.1 and 15.2 in the ebook textbook. This text is part of the Longhorn Textbook access program.
Take the Daily Quiz 1 before 10 PM tomorrow. Click here to access the quiz. These quizzes are designed to review the important material from today's lecture. Together, they will count as 3% of your final grade.
Start working on the Homework Problem Set 1, due at 10 PM on Tuesday, Juanuary 22. Click here to access the Homework Problem Set 1. Note there are Aktiv Learning and Gradescope Questions, and you MUST DO BOTH. Homeworks will be worth 10% of your final grade (20% from the Aktiv Learning and 80% from the Gradescope portions of the homework).
