Organic Chemistry III

Fall Semester 2000
Gustavus Adolphus College

Instructor: Dr. Brian A. O'Brien Nobel 303A
tel. 933-7310, e-mail bobrien@gac.edu or bobrien@gustavus.edu

The class meets in Nobel 121, 10:30 a.m., on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Textbook: The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms
by Robert B. Grossman; Springer Verlag, 1998; ISBN: 0387985409

The class will be primarily concerned with development of an understanding of the basic mechanistic principles that underlie the reactivity of organic compounds at a molecular level. Coverage will include examples of polar, radical, and concerted mechanisms. In addition, applications of main-group and transition metal chemistry in organic chemistry will be covered both from both mechanistic and synthetic perspectives. Examples from the current chemical literature will be used to supplement those from the textbook.

The grade for the course will be based on performance on quizzes, homework sets, and a comprehensive final examination. A 15-minute quiz will be given on most Fridays. Projected quiz dates are: September 15, 22, 29; October 13, 27; November 3, 10; 17; and December 1, 8. The final examination will be given during the period 8:00 - 10:00 on Monday, December 18.

Grades will be calculated according to the following scheme:

If your score on the final examination is higher than the quiz average, the quiz average will constitute 30% of the grade and the final examination 40%.