Tuesday, August 31, 2010

OWL Assignment Extension & Lecture Notes Addition

I have extended the OWL deadline for the first assignment to Sunday, September 5 at 11:59 p.m.  OWL assignment two is still also due on Sunday, September 5 at 11:59 p.m.  This is a longer assignment.  Be sure to start well in advance so that you have plenty of time and can reflect on the questions carefully.  Also, I was unable to present my last slides during lecture today on naming cycloalkanes.  These have been posted with lecture 3 on the course website.  You are responsible for learning the material in these slides on your own since they will not be presented during the next lecture.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

CHEM 232 Fall 2010: To-Do List, Syllabus and Course Info

Welcome to CHEM 232: Organic Chemistry Lecture I
As we approach the start of the Fall 2010 semester, I want to welcome you to the course and also to give you a list of tasks that should be completed before the first lecture so that you are adequately prepared and do not fall behind.  One of the most important skills required for success in a large university lecture course is your ability to seek out and follow directions carefully and to keep up with the workload.  I encourage you to read all of the resources on the course website as well as on Blackboard that are discussed in the to-do list below.  If you have any questions, my door--and e-mail inbox--are already open and waiting to assist you.  I look forward to sharing my passion for the exciting world of organic chemistry with you.  This semester I aim not only to teach you the chemistry content that you require for your academic endeavors, but also to train you in the type of analytical thinking that is required for solving scientific problems in the professional field to which you aspire.  While you may not want to be an organic chemist, the learning process in this course involves many general skills that  you will undoubtedly employ in your future careers.
Cheers,
Dr. Chad Landrie

To Do List:
1.  Become acquainted with the resources available on Blackboard and on the course website ( www.chadlandrie.com).

2.  Carefully read the document Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 232): Syllabus & Course Information, which may be downloaded from the course website's File Sharing page (gettingstarted_232F10_b.pdf).  This document will not be distributed during the lecture or your discussion section.

3.  Purchase the required text and materials for the course including the textbook, i>clicker and OWL registration code.  The textbook and i>clicker are available at the UIC bookstore.  The OWL registration code must be purchased online.

 4.  Register your OWL code online according to the instructions in the getting started guide or on the course website's OWL page.

5. Register your i>clicker online according to the instructions in the getting started guide or on the course website's i>clicker page.

6.  Read Chapter One in the Carey textbook.  All of the material in this chapter should be a review from your general chemistry courses.  We will cover this chapter very quickly during the first two lectures.  If you're a bit rusty on some topics and need a more thorough review than is presented in Chapter One of our text, you may want to view some of my past general chemsitry lectures.

7.  Attend your first discussion section.  There will be a quiz during the first discussion.  The quiz will cover the material in chapter one.

8.  Begin working on your first OWL assignment.  The first assignment is due on Sunday, August 29 at 11:59 PM.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

CHEM 233 To-Do List, Course Info & Syllabus

Welcome to CHEM 233: Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
As we approach the start of the Fall 2010 semester, I want to welcome you to the course and also to give you a list of tasks that should be completed in the coming weeks.  Most of these should be completed before the first lab session so that you are adequately prepared and do not fall behind.  One of the most important skills required for success in a large university laboratory course, is your ability to seek out and follow directions carefully.  I encourage you to read all of the resources on the course website as well as on Blackboard that are discussed in the to-do list below.  If you have any questions, my door--and e-mail inbox--are already open and waiting to assist you.  I look forward to sharing my passion for the exciting world of organic chemistry with you.  This semester I aim not only to teach you the chemistry content and laboratory techniques that you require for your academic endeavors, but also to train you in the type of analytical thinking that is required for solving problems in a laboratory setting as well as the professional field to which you aspire.  While you may not want to be an organic chemist, the practical application of technical knowledge in a laboratory setting involves many general skills that  you will undoubtedly employ in your future careers.  
Cheers,
Dr. Chad Landrie

To Do List:
1.  Become acquainted with the resources available on Blackboard and on the course website ( www.chadlandrie.com).

2.  Purchase the required texts and materials for the course including the lab notebook, textbook and goggles.  All of these items are available at the UIC bookstore.  The lab manual will be distributed during the first laboratory sesssion.

3.  Carefully read the course syllabus.  The syllabus can be found in the lab manual, which will be distributed during the first laboratory session, or downloaded from the CHEM 233 File Sharing page on the course website.

4.  Review the principles of infrared spectroscopy as well as the common functional groups in organic chemistry.  During your first laboratory session, you will complete an activity titled Infrared Spectroscopy Primer (also in the lab manual) designed to review the principles of infrared spectroscopy and to demonstrate how this technique is used to identify functional groups in organic molecules.  If you are currently enrolled in CHEM 232, and have not encountered this analytical technique yet, you may want to begin working on the IR Primer as well as the pertinent sections in your lecture textbook before your lab.  You may also want to look over lecture slides from my CHEM 232 course on infrared spectroscopy.  The IR Primer activity will not be collected or graded (a pre-lab notebook entry is not required); it's sole function is to provide you with the information you need for the first laboratory experiment the following session.  Be sure to ask your TA plenty of questions so that you get the information you need.  During the following lab session, you will learn how to collect IR spectra on one of our two infrared spectrometers.  You will then use this technique on that day to identify unknown organic compounds.