Winter 2008 Advance Course Information

This information effective for winter 2008. Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.

Chemistry

[CHEM-112B]

112B Organic Chemistry

Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Braslau
Office: PSB 342
Phone: 9-3087
E-mail: braslau@chemistry.ucsc.edu
Office Hours: Monday 2:30-3:30, Wednesday 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Teaching Assistant: TBA 459-3663 PSB 395
Class Meeting: Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-11:45 am, PSB 114

Course Description

Discussion Sections

Homework is to be turned in and returned at your discussion section. Attendance at the discussion section is required. Attendance and participation in your discussion section will be considered in your final evaluation.

Required Materials

• Smith, Organic Chemistry, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill: New York 2008
• Smith and Smith, Student Study Guide/Solutions Manual for Use with Organic Chemistry McGraw Hill: New York, 2008
• A molecular model kit (any brand)

E-mail

A current e-mail address is required. I will use your UCSC assigned e-mail address unless you e-mail me with an alternative address. Announcements, corrections and assignments will be occasionally sent to you by e-mail. You are responsible for anything announced by e-mail just as if it were announced in lecture. There is a web page at http://chemistry.ucsc.edu/courses/chem112b/chem112b for the class. Questions on course material can be sent to the Prof. Braslau at braslau@chemistry by e-mail, although I strongly encourage you to come to office hours in person when possible.

Course Philosophy

It is my goal as your professor to make organic chemistry as clear and approachable as is humanly possible. This is why I put an emphasis on understanding reaction mechanisms, so that you can extrapolate from one known reaction pattern to many more. Trying to memorize your way through organic chemistry is painful and unsatisfying, and will result in no long-term benefit to you once this 112 series of courses is over. Organic chemistry is the fundamental underlying basis for molecular biology, environmental toxicology, and pharmaceutical medicine. Most of my students will NOT become professional chemists, however many will pursue careers that will benefit from having a sound understanding of organic chemistry as a foundation. However, you need to devote significant and high-quality time to mastering the fundamental concepts in this class. Keeping up with the homework and going over your lecture notes to truly understand the concepts (and perhaps working within a small study group) are critical to doing well and enjoying this class. Please do NOT let yourself get behind. The pace of the course is very fast, due to the subjects that need to be covered over the quarter. PLEASE take advantage of my office hours and the TA’s office hours to clarify misunderstandings or help reinforce material that is challenging.

Assignments and Exams

A list of assigned problems will be handed out and posted on the web, to be turned in at the designated dates. Since you have the solution manual, the problems should be completed and corrected before being turned in for credit. The neatness and correctness of the original answers will not be of concern, rather the completeness (show your work) in doing the assigned problems will be evaluated.

I strongly encourage you to make use of the office hours and discussion sections to discuss problems, exercises or concepts that are not clear. Two 1 3/4 hour exams (100 pts each) will take place on February 7 and February 28. The Final Exam (200 pts) will be held on Friday, March 21 at 8:00-11:00 am. If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please submit your Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to me in a timely manner, preferably within the first two weeks of the quarter. Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY). All students should plan to be here for all of the exams: NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE ADMINISTERED. Please Note: cheating on exams will absolutely Not be tolerated. No “warnings” will be given.

In order to pass the class, you must pass the final cumulative exam. Grades will be determined by considering exam points, homework performance, discussion section performance, and an evaluation of your arrow-pushing abilities as demonstrated in your final exam . You MUST be able to push electrons in a reasonable fashion to pass this class.

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