Molecular behavior is very important and impacts all aspects of life. Everything from the efficacy of a drug to how many summers a plastic pool float will last can be altered by modifying something’s chemical structure. A molecule’s structure is important because it influences the molecule’s reactivity. In this course students will hone their ability to predict how organic molecules behave. We will learn modern theories of bonding, structure and energetics. These theories will be used to develop skills for predicting reaction mechanisms. We will gain perspective on what factors influence the patterns of electron flow, or mechanisms, for chemical reactions. A focus of the course will be understanding why mechanistic patterns emerge and understanding why molecules do what they do instead of doing something else. The addition, substitution, elimination and acid/base reactions that underpin the reactivity of organic molecules will receive considerable attention this term. We will also learn how chemists determine mechanisms experimentally by starting to explore some of the instrumental techniques used. The lab component of this course includes both quantitative and qualitative work and assumes students have some knowledge of statistics and mathematics. We will be working to develop our perspectives on the role of chemistry in society as well as our skills for scientific inquiry by preparing abstracts and reviews of articles selected from the current chemical research literature.
Learning Outcomes:
Delivery Method: Entirely remote (synchronous)
Prerequisites:Chemistry 1 with lab.
Corequisites: Chemistry 2 Lab
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 4
T/F 1:40PM-5:20PM, W 2:00PM-6:00PM (Lab) (new time as of 5/29/2020) (1st seven weeks)
Maximum Enrollment: 20
Course Frequency: Once a year
Categories: All courses , Chemistry , Updates
Tags: critical writing , Experiments , material science , technology