Organic Chemistry
A CHM 216a
Spring 2002

Review
Sessions
Required
Texts
Course
Preparation
Class
Behavior
Attendance
Lecture
Format
Web Sites
Exams/
Grading
Study Problems and Tutorials
Tentative Lecture Schedule
Course Handouts
PowerPoint Presentations
Help

Instructor: Professor Rabi Musah

Office: Chemistry 222

Office Hours: Monday and Thursday Noon - 2:00 pm, and by appointment.

Phone: 437-3740    (On campus dial 7-3740)

Email: musah@csc.albany.edu

Required Texts:

L. G. Wade Jr. Organic Chemistry Prentice Hall, 4th Edition, 1999.
A molecular model set, available in Scientific Stores, is strongly recommended.

Course Preparation

CHM 120N and 121N are required prerequisites for CHM 216A/B. It is not possible to pass this course without a knowledge of general chemistry. In addition, experience has shown that it is very difficult to pass CHM 216A if the grade obtained in the prerequisite general chemistry courses is <= C. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are well versed in general chemistry. Relevant topics include but are not limited to bonding (covalent and ionic), hybridization, resonance, Lewis dot structures, and acidity/basicity.
PLEASE NOTE: A tremendous amount of material will be covered during each class period, and anyone who fails to read the chapters to be covered prior to coming to class will find it impossible to keep up and will remain perpetually lost throughout the semester. This is not a joke. Be sure that you have read the chapters prior to coming to class, even if you do not understand the material. This will greatly improve your ability to understand what is covered in class, and will enable you to ask intelligent questions.


Class Behavior

Inappropriate behavior of any kind will not be tolerated while class is in session. This includes but is not limited to talking and/or making disruptive sounds, sleeping, snoring, throwing objects etc. Persons engaging in such behavior will be dismissed from the class with the first violation!


Attendance

You are required to attend all lectures, even though attendance may not be formally monitored. You are responsible for all material covered during lectures whether or not you are present. If you are absent from class, you should find out what was covered from your class mates, not me. I give each lecture only once. Bear in mind that poor attendance always manifests itself in a failing grade in this course.


Lecture format:

In general, lectures will be presented using power point slides, and time permitting, example problems will be done in class on the board. The power point slides that will be presented during each lecture are available on reserve in the library, and are also online at two web sites. Please note that access to these notes is no substitute for being present in class, and simply reading through the slides without coming to class will guarantee you an E in the course.


Web Sites

There are two Web Sites for this class. Most of the slides that are presented in class are available at these sites. Notices and class announcements are also posted. The addresses for both sites will be announced in class.


Exams/Grading:

Four cumulative hour examinations and a comprehensive final will be given. The 4 hour exams will constitute 60% of your grade and the final examination will comprise 40%. Exam scores (except those from the final) will be posted on the bulletin board between CHM 222 and CHM 225. If you miss an exam and have an excused absence, your score on that exam is determined by your score on the final exam for the material that exam would cover. An excused absence is "a documented hospitalization, a death in the immediate family, a personal emergency, a previously scheduled varsity athletic competition, or other exceptional circumstance that is approved by the professor". In so far as is possible, you must contact me prior to the exam in order to receive an excused absence. A score of zero is assigned for an unexcused absence. Excused absences are granted bny the Dean of Undergraduate studies. I do not grant excused absences. In the event that your request for an excused absence is approved, the Dean of Undergraduate studies will inform me of this and I will act accordingly. The office of the Dean of Undergraduate studies is LC 30, and the phone number is 442-3950. Unless the Dean of Undergraduate studies informs me that you are to be granted an excused absence, you will receive a grade of zero for each exam that you miss.

On Exam Days:
  1. Wait outside the lecture hall until you are allowed to enter by a proctor.
  2. BRING YOUR UNIVERSITY ID and leave it out on the desk during the exam.
  3. Don't bring ANYTHING to exams except something to write, and some kleenex, if you need it.
  4. Leave ALL coats, book bags, etc. at the back of the room. Valuables can be put under your seat
  5. Exams can be handed in at any time during the hour.
  6. SHOW YOUR ID AND SIGN THE ATTENDANCE LIST when you hand in your exam

I do not grade on a curve.
Scores of less than 50% on any exam and as an overall average are failing (E). Anyone who has the following overall average is guaranteed at least the grade shown: > 85 = A-; > 75 = B-. You are expected to take all four exams. The policies, penalties, procedures and standards on Academic Integrity outlined in the Undergraduate Bulletin and in the Policy on Community Rights and Responsibilities are followed.

Study Problems and Tutorials:

It is not possible to pass this course without mastering the problems found within and at the end of the chapters. If you do not have time to devote to this activity this semester, then you should drop the course and re-register for it when you do have the time. Academic Services offers a free tutorial program for this course. There are also set times during which teaching assistants are available in the Chemistry Learning Center (2nd floor, south end) specifically for this course. Times for both tutorials will be announced in class and posted.

Tentative Lecture Schedule:

Students are expected to have read the assigned material prior to class and to attend all lectures. You are responsible for all of the material in every chapter unless announced differently and for material presented during lectures, including that not in the text.

A CHM 216A : Tentative Lecture Schedule
Week Dates Monday Wednesday
1 January 23 Chapter1
2 January 28, 30 Chapter1 Chapter 1/2
3 February 4, 6 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
4 February 11, 13 Chapter 3 Exam 1 (Chapters 1-3)
5 February 18, 20 No Class (President's day) Chapter 4
6 February 25, 27 Spring Break Spring Break
7 March 4, 6 Chapter 5 Chapter 5
8 March 11, 13 Chapter 6 Chapter6
9 March 18, 20 Exam 2 (Chapters 4-6) Chapter 7
10 March 25, 27 Chapter 7 No Class
11 April 1, 3 Chapter 8 Chapter 8
12 April 8, 10 Chapter 9 Chapter 9
13 April 15, 17 Exam 3 (Chapters 7-9) Chapter 10
14 April 22, 24 Chapter 10 Chapter 11
15 April 29, May 1 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
16 May 6, 8 Exam 4 (Chapters 10-12) Chapter 14
Final: Thursday, May 16th, 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Letters of Recommendation:

I do not write letters of recommendation on behalf of students who I don't know. Just because you registered in this clas does not mean that I will know who you are. Although I will try hard to get to know you, YOU must be sure to interact with me whenever you can through attendance to office hours etc. so that I will be able to write a lette of recommendation on your behalf if you need it in the future. In addition, please note that I do not write letters of recommendation for students who earn less than a B grade in this class, and if I recommend to you that you might prefer to get a letter of recommendation from someone other than myself, please take my advice, since it means that I might not be able to cast you in the most positive light in my letter.


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Page last updated January 23, 2002 by Cetlta23, Center for Excellence in Teaching