SYLLABUS Organic Chemistry I CHEM253 Fall 2008

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Course Description:
Chemistry is often characterized as the "central" science because of the many connections
to other fields. Due to the relevance of chemistry in many disciplines, it is important that
people in most scientific fields have some understanding of chemistry. This course will
be the first semester of an overview of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry is the study
of compounds that originate in living systems; therefore, it is recognized as an essential
ingredient in the education of scientists in a wide range of fields, particularly the life
sciences. The major foci of the course are to:
1) understand the reactivity of organic compounds,
2) to appreciate the role of structure in chemical identity and
3) apply reactivity and structure to the understanding the of organic molecule function.
This course in challenging and fast-paced. This means that a lot of material will be
covered in a relatively short period of time. The crucial importance of organic chemistry
dictates the pace. This course involves cumulative, vertical learning. That which is
learned in the first and subsequent weeks is needed continuously, throughout the year,
even into the last week!
Course Objectives:
1) Think Molecular! Molecules are interesting and important. Molecular thinking helps
us understand how organisms function and helps us appreciate what is going on in the
world in which we live. From the lecture, text, lab and problems in this course, you
will be able to ask questions about natural phenomena and use models and metaphor
to describe what is going on at the molecular level.
2) Become acquainted with the language of organic chemistry. Every discipline has its
vocabulary and terminology associated with it. Organic chemistry has much
representational language in the form of functional groups, molecular structural
formulas and 3-D representations.
3) Familiarize yourself with mechanism-based chemical reactivity. Much of what we do
involves using electron movement to explain and predict chemical reactivity.
4) Synthesis and spectroscopy problem solving is a means of improving your problemsolving
skills relating to real-world problems in the chemical sciences.
5) Basic experimental techniques will be learned and practiced in the laboratory section.
Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
Erich Fromm