Sapling Ch. 1 Homework Extension

In order to accommodate late registering students, I have extended the deadline for the first Sapling homework assignment (Ch. 1) to this Sunday, Sept. 4 at 11:55 p.m. The Ch. 2 assignment has not been extended, however, and is also still due this Sunday, Sept. 4 at 11:55 p.m. As is often the case, the Sapling server becomes increasingly slow around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday evenings. I encourage you to work on your assignments ahead of time to avoid this complication. No extensions will be given because the server is slow near assignment deadlines or because you have had a connection or hardware issue. Work on your assignments well in advance to avoid these risks.

CHEM 233, Fall 2011: Syllabus, Course Info & To-Do List

Welcome to CHEM 233

As we approach the start of the fall 2011 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 here 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 open for business.  I'm looking 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 manual, lab notebook, textbook and goggles.  All of these items are available at the UIC bookstore.

3.  Carefully read the course syllabus.  The syllabus can be found in the lab manual, downloaded from the course website’s File Sharing Page (www.chadlandrie.com) or downloaded from Blackboard.

4.  Review the principles of infrared spectroscopy as well as the common functional groups in organic chemistry.  During your first laboratory session, you will participate in an infrared spectroscopy primer (also in the lab manual) designed to introduce and 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 review lecture slides I’ve posted on spectroscopy on the File Sharing page (spectroscopy_232_Lec1).  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 spectrometers.  You will then use this technique on that day to identify unknown organic compounds.

5. Complete a prelab notebook entry before Lab One. A description of how to keep a laboratory notebook as well as the grading rubric that will be used to assess each entry can be found in the course manual.

CHEM 232, Fall 2011: Syllabus, Course Info & To Do List

Welcome to CHEM 232: Organic Chemistry Lecture I

As we approach the start of the Fall 2011 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.  Two of the most important skills required for success in a large university lecture course are 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 and Course Information, which can be downloaded from the course website's File Sharing page (syllabus_courseinfo_232F11.pdf).  This document will not be distributed during the lecture or your discussion section.

3.  Purchase the required texts and materials for the course including the textbook, i>clicker and a Sapling Learning online homework account.  The textbook and i>clicker are available at the UIC bookstore.  The Sapling account must be registered and payed for online.

4. After voting at least once during lecture, register your iclicker online according to the instructions in the syllabus & course info document or on the course website's iclicker page.

5.  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 Sapling assignment.  The first assignment is due on Sunday, August 28 at 11:59 PM.

Your course is full, but I want in!

If you are trying to register for a section of my CHEM 232 or CHEM 233 course but can't get it, keep trying especially during the first week. In both courses, several students drop during the first week. Once they've dropped that spot will be immediately open. There are no waiting lists; registration is first-come-first-serve. While you won't be able to attend a discussion section or lab section until you're registered, you're more than welcome to attend the lecture for CHEM 232 while you're trying to register.


I do not have any control over class enrollment numbers and neither I nor the chemistry department can override enrollments for CHEM 232 or CHEM 233. These are strictly controlled by the timetable office based on the number of seats available in the discussion section classrooms and laboratories.

CHEM 233 Final Exam Scores and Course Grades Posted

All of your course scores have been posted to Blackboard as well as your final grade. The course curve and other statistics have been posted on the Grades Summer 2011 page of the CHEM 233 course website. If you have questions or concerns about your final grade in the course, please stop by my office this Friday (8/5) between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. or on Monday (8/8) between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. I generally will not answer questions about grades through email. Also, you may pick up your notebooks from your TA. Unclaimed notebooks will be discarded.

It was great working with all of you this semester and I hope we were able to successfully teach you how to apply chemical knowledge to solving problems and analyzing data in the laboratory. This process--transforming theoretical knowledge to practical application--will be critical in your professional endeavors. If our investigation at the end of the semester on the preparation of cis-3-alkenoates sparked your interest in chemistry research, consider enrolling in my CHEM 333 course, Advanced Synthetic Organic Laboratory. This course is offered in the summer and spring semesters and engages students in authentic and contemporary research in synthetic organic chemistry. Previous work on the solid-supported reduction methods that was conducted by CHEM 333 students has been published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry--a major accomplishment for an undergraduate course. We are currently working on the synthesis of antiviral compounds with triazole ring systems through Cu-catalyzed alkyne-azide coupling reactions. If you'd like to know more about the course, visit the course website or stop by my office to chat.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! -Dr. L