Course Syllabus

CHEM 2315 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I

Course Description

CHEM 2315 is the laboratory complement of CHEM 2310. The laboratory experience reinforces the principles of organic chemistry by teaching foundational techniques and simple synthesis reactions. This lab course is designed for pre-professional majors as well as chemistry majors. (Lab fee required)

Justification

Organic chemistry laboratory is taught by chemistry departments at USHE institutions. It is a two-semester sequence that is numbered as CHEM 2315 for the first semester and CHEM 2325 for the second semester at USHE institutions. It is required for all chemistry-based majors and many pre-professional programs; some programs require only the first semester. This course will provide students majoring in chemistry-centered disciplines and pre-professional areas a detailed study of foundational laboratory techniques and beginning synthesis methods.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will have a working knowledge of chemical reactivity, physical properties, preparation, nomenclature, and synthesis of organic compounds. Students will be able to apply reaction knowledge to syntheses and laboratory techniques in the isolation, purification, and identification of products.
2. Students will be able to analyze and interpret experimental observations and compare their observations with literature results and data to form judgments about the success of a laboratory procedure.
3. Students may be asked to demonstrate reasoning about physical and chemical processes through tasks such as combining information from a variety of experimental methods to reach a consistent conclusion about the structure of a molecule or the outcome of a reaction, comparing the outcomes of similar experiments, or designing and explaining the justification for their own experimental protocols.
4. Students will be able to use scholarly and chemistry-specific databases such as GoogleScholar and ChemSpider to obtain information for the background and discussion sections of their lab reports. Such information might include the structures of chemicals used or prepared in the lab, accepted literature values for the physical properties of chemicals used or prepared in the lab, history and development of laboratory techniques, real-world (e.g. industrial and artisanal) applications of laboratory techniques, current chemical research involving materials or methods being studied, and various other topics as appropriate to the content of individual experiments.

Course Content

CHEM 2315 focuses on development of foundational laboratory techniques. Representative lab experiments include: chemical information literacy (library session); melting point determination; recrystallization; extraction; liquid-liquid distillation; steam distillation; polarimetry; liquid chromatography; gas chromatography; the SN2 reaction; the E2 reaction; and a two- or three-week final project lab that integrates multiple techniques and/or concepts learned during the semester. Instructors who choose to teach spectroscopy in CHEM 2310 (see CHEM 2310 syllabus, Content Topic Set B) will also teach IR spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy in CHEM 2315.