Instructor: Dr. Brian A. O'Brien
Room 303A, Nobel Hall
Tel. 933-7310 (Nobel); 931-3113 (home)
e-mail: bobrien@gac.edu
web: http://www.gac.edu/~bobrien

Laboratory Instructors: Brian O'Brien (Monday & Wednesday); Allan Splittgerber (Tuesday); Jennings Ellis (Thursday)

Textbook: Experimental Organic Chemistry, by Jerry R. Mohrig, Christina Noring Hammond, Terence, C. Morill, and Douglas C. Neckers; W. H. Freeman, 1998.

Meeting Rooms: Lecture in Wallenberg Auditorium (Nobel), Laboratory in Nobel 302.

Your results and conclusions for each completed experimental sequence will be described in a formal report, and, in two cases, by a formal presentation. The types of items which should be included, are, for example, interpretation of spectra, assessment of purity, calculation of percent yield, variations on the standard procedure, and commentaries on difficulties (or lack thereof) which you find with the procedures. Other significant areas may be covered as well, depending on the exact nature of the experiment. I will provide instructions, either in class or as special handouts, for preparation of reports for each experiment.

Your written lab reports are due no later than the beginning of the lab period one week after you complete the experiment. For experiments which require more than one week, the report is due one week from the end of the last lab period for that experiment. Late reports will receive reduced credit at a rate of 5% per day late. The penalty mechanism includes weekend days and holidays.

Reports will be graded on a scale of 0 - 10 by one of the laboratory assistants. The basis for grading includes clarity, thoroughness, validity of conclusions, and neatness. Please note that thoroughness does not correlate with verbosity - a concise report can also be thorough.

You should keep a record of your laboratory work in a permanently bound notebook. Your notebook is due after you complete each experiment, and will be checked for completeness and adherence to proper methods for recording data, then returned to you atop the box. The notebook grade is qualitative, based on a system of checks, plus signs, and minus signs; a check with two plus signs is the top grade; a lone check is average; minus signs imply a distinct need for improvement. The notebook grade will be used at the end of the semester to adjust borderline grades. For instance, a person with a numerical grade which corresponds to B^- could have his or her grade increased to a B by an exceptionally good notebook. A poor notebook would reduce the grade to C⁺.

Laboratory lectures will be given at appropriate times during the regular lecture periods. In many cases, further instructions will be provided on the laboratory blackboard or in short lectures in the laboratory. The laboratory schedule is outlined on the back of this sheet. Note that labs will not meet on certain days due to the constraints of scheduling around Nobel Conference and holidays.

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September 13-16 (Monday - Thursday)
Isolation and Characterization of the Essential Oils of Caraway and Cumin Seeds
Experiment 7, laboratory text, pages 54-63.
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September 20-23 (Monday - Thursday)
DEPT ¹³C NMR Analysis of Carvone and Cuminaldehyde
Handout and lecture text (Brown and Foote), page 483.
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September 27 - 30 (Monday - Thursday)
Synthesis of 1-Bromobutane and a Grignard Synthesis of an Alcohol
Project 2, laboratory text, 369-382.
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October 4 (Monday) The lab will not meet on this day.
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October 5-6 (Tuesday & Wednesday) Nobel Conference - The labs will not meet on these days.
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October 7-13 (Thursday - Wednesday)
Project 2, continued.
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October 14-20 (Thursday - Wednesday)
Project 2, continued.
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October 21 (Thursday) The lab will not meet on this day.
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October 26 - November 1 (Tuesday - Monday)
Group Presentations on Project 2.
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November 2-8 (Tuesday - Monday)
Transfer Hydrogenation of Cinnamic Acid Derivatives
Handout.
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November 9-15 (Tuesday - Monday)
Transfer Hydrogenation, continued.
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November 16-22 (Tuesday - Monday)
Group Presentations on Transfer Hydrogenation.
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November 23-24 (Wednesday - Thursday) The lab will not meet on these two days.
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November 29 - December 2 (Monday - Thursday)
Extraction of Caffeine from Tea Leaves.
Experiment 1, pages 15-27.
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December 6 - December 9 (Monday - Thursday)
Check out.