Organic Chemistry I and II are designed to help students develop a solid foundation in organic chemistry which you can apply in future courses involving the molecular sciences such as synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and nanoscience.
Organic Chemistry I
Course Description
This course is the first in a series of two courses that surveys the fundamentals of organic chemistry. In this first part, students are introduced to the chemistry of the simplest organic compounds, the hydrocarbons, as well as a few examples of their derivatives. Students learn how to name these compounds, make them from simple starting materials, characterize them using standard analytical methods and apply them to the syntheses of more complex molecules. Much of what is learnt in the lecture section will be put into practice in the laboratory section of the course. Importantly, what students do in this first part will set the stage for more elegant, more complex, and more fun chemistry in CHEM 332.
Organic Chemistry II
Course Description
This course is the second of two courses that survey the fundamentals of organic chemistry. In this section, students explore the most important functional groups in organic chemistry with emphasis placed on the synthetic routes to these compounds and their reactivity. Mechanisms of reactions continue to play a key role in describing the chemistry of the systems under investigation. Some of what is learnt in the lecture section will be put into practice in the laboratory section of the course. Ultimately, students are able to apply their understanding of organic chemistry mechanisms to total syntheses of important organic molecules published in the current literature.