Text: Organic Chemistry (7th Edition) - Francis Carey
Study Guide: Organic Chemistry (7th Edition) - Atkins and Carey
Lab Guide: The Organic Chem Lab Survival Guide (any Edition) - James W. Zubrick

Homework Problems

Most of the in text problems should be solved (answers are in the back of the book).  You should also solve the assigned problems from the end of the chapter.  Use the study guide to check for accuracy.  You don't need to solve all of the assigned problems, but you should solve enough to understand the concepts. Homework will not be graded for accuracy, but you will be given credit for handing it in on time.  Homework for a particular chapter is due at the beginning of the first lecture period after the lecture for the chapter has been finished.  Late homework will not receive credit.

Miscellaneous Information:

Special Needs: A student with a verified disability may be entitled to appropriate academic accommodations.  Please contact your instructor and/or the Disabled Students Program & Services Office at (760)795-6658, or the office of the ADA Coordinator at (760)795-6866.   Some lead time will be necessary, so please make arrangements as early as possible, preferably during the first two weeks of classes.

Office Hours:  Office hours are 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon in OC4502 (get to my office by going through outside door into OC4505).  Please come in if you have questions about the class lecture, laboratory, anything related to chemistry or just to chat.  You can come in unannounced during my regular office hours (if the door to OC4505 is locked, just knock).  I will be available at other times, but you will need to make an appointment.

Chemistry 211 is the second semester of a two-semester organic chemistry course for science majors. The lab consists of experiments designed to teach you standard organic chemistry procedures and reactions.  You are expected to read the assigned material prior to attending lecture.

Student Learning Outcomes: As part of the ongoing program here at MiraCosta College, Student Learning Outcomes is something that we include in every class being taught.  These outcomes are designed to measure several different key components of the course that every student is expected to master during that course.  For this first semester organic chemistry class, the outcomes we will be assessing are: (1) Demonstrate a firm understanding of acid-base concepts and how these concepts are central to organic chemistry, (2) Demonstrate how Nucleophilic Substitutions reactions (S_N1 and S_N2) are involved in most organic chemistry reactions, and (3) Describe how the 3-dimensional geometry of organic compounds influences their reactivity.

Homework Problems: In order to receive credit for homework, you must solve at least half of the in-text problems (the problems present in the textual part of the chapter).  Some of the problems at the end of the chapter should also be solved until you have a thorough understanding of the concepts being covered in the different sections of the text.  You can solve problems alone, with a friend, with a group of friends, or by attending the SI help sessions for this class.  Remember there are no specific problems that must be solved, but a broad scattering of problems in the text and at the end of the chapter should be attempted.  Credit will no longer be given for homework unless there is observable evidence that you have been making a fair attempt at solving the problems.  You don't need to solve all of the assigned problems, but you should do enough to understand the concepts being covered. Homework will not be graded for accuracy, but will be for credit only if handed in on time.  Homework for a particular chapter is due at the beginning of the lab period on the day after the lecture for the chapter was finished, according to the lecture schedule given above.

Lab Attendance: You need to print your Experimental Protocol  for each experiment from the Internet prior to coming to lab (you cannot use the lab printer). Please read the protocol before coming to lab.  Chemistry is an experimental science and lab attendance is mandatory.  The laboratory section must be passed in order to pass the course. If you miss two or more labs, you are subject to dismissal from the class. You need to hand in your completed lab notebook for every experiment to receive credit for that experiment.  Prepare your notebook before coming to class and fill in data as you perform the experiment.  Do not take notes and then transfer data to your lab notebook later.  Lab notebooks are due one week after the experiment was completed (based on the syllabus). Lab reports turned in late will be deducted 20%, if turned in within one week of when they were due.  Lab reports turned in after this date will be deducted 50% as a late penalty, but lab reports cannot be turned in for credit later than one week after it was originally due (that is, two weeks after the lab was completed). Format for your Laboratory Notebooks and the Formal Written Lab Reports is online.

Additional Lab Information:

1. Chemical splash goggles must be worn whenever anyone in the lab is working with chemicals. If you don’t have goggles with you and cannot borrow a pair you have two options–go to the bookstore and buy a pair or don’t do the lab that day.
2. All students must sign a copy of the Lab Safety Rules before being allowed to work in the lab.
3. Come to lab prepared with chemical splash goggles (these can be stored in your locker), lab book (or handout), pen or pencil and calculator. Lab experiments must be read and understood before lab.
4. Any Pre-Laboratory Questions must be solved prior to coming to lab.
5. You will often work with another person, who will be your lab partner. Experiments that are done in pairs will be done with that person. Some experiments may be done solo.
6. There will be no makeup labs. If you miss a lab, it will be the one dropped. If you miss more than one lab, you will forfeit those points.
7. Students who are absent for more than two lab experiments during the semester may be dropped from the course or be assigned a failing grade.
8. During the lab you will record all data and observations directly in your lab notebook.  Your instructor may request to view your notebook or data collection prior to leaving lab.
9. Each week’s lab and lab report is worth a total of twenty (20) points. The minimum score for attending lab, collecting and recording data is ten (10) points.  You are also graded on the neatness and organization of your lab notebook.
   
   • Lab notebooks are turned in for each experiment. They should be done in ink. Please show your calculations, with units, to get full credit. Lab notebooks will usually be due one week after the experiment was completed (using the syllabus as the schedule) for that particular experiment. A laboratory notebook handed in within one week later than due date, will be assessed a 20% penalty.  Notebooks handed in after that one-week grace period will receive only credit for doing the experiment (50% point reduction).
   • You cannot write your lab reports or notebook with your lab partner.  You must show the data that you personally collected. Do not share your actual data and observations with anyone other than your lab partner, unless you also want to share (split) your score. Both the sharer and the sharee will be penalized.
   • Write your lab partner’s name under yours in the lab notebook.  Your partner is the person with whom you actually performed the experiment that day.
   • Some of the experiments include post-lab questions. Please answer these questions and turn them in with your laboratory notebook.  They may be worth up to ten points. Most points on lab notebooks are lost as a result of missing or incomplete information, including not using the correct format, which includes the Results and Discussion section and a Conclusions section.  More information about laboratory notebooks can be found online for Laboratory Notebooks.
   • Laboratory reports are separate from the lab notebooks.  When you turn in a Lab Report, you also must turn in your Lab Notebook, as they are graded separately.  Information about Formal Written Lab Reports can be found online.

Cheating: You are expected to abide by the MiraCosta College Honor Code.  Cheating includes the copying or exchanging of information during exams or quizzes or plagiarism (copying another's work and turning it in as your own). If you are caught cheating you will be removed from class, disciplined by the Dean of Students and you may fail the course.

COURSE GRADING POLICY:

Exams (450 pts):  Four exams will be given, but only three of these exams will be counted towards your final grade. If you miss an exam, that will be the exam you drop.  Missed exams cannot be made up or taken at a different time (a missed exam due to medical emergency, or other legitimate causes, may be made up at the discretion of Dr. Robertson).  If you believe the exam is missed for a legitimate reason, please contact Dr. Robertson before the exam. Dr. Robertson will be the only judge of whether the exam can be made up. Exams will include material covered in lecture. There may be times when a specific question was not covered in class, but if you learn to apply what you know from lecture, the application of this knowledge to these questions will allow you to answer these questions. If you have concerns about exam grades, please return it to me and I may re-grade it, but I have the option to re-grade the entire exam.

Quizzes (100 pts): Quizzes will be given usually during weeks that no exam is scheduled and may be unannounced.  Some of the quizzes will cover material recently discussed in lecture.  An additional set of quizzes covering organic molecules, nomenclature, and reactions will be given.  Information for these quizzes is available for study from the Online Organic Quiz Webpage [click to view]  information, and may be material not otherwise covered in lecture.  Quizzes cannot be taken late or made up.  At least one quiz will be dropped, and this will be the lowest score, or your missed quiz. 

Homework (25 pts): As indicated above, homework problems are not graded, but you will be given credit for doing at least some of the suggested problems.  In order to receive credit, homework must be turned in when it is due.  Homework is due the day after the lecture for a particular chapter was completed, based on the syllabus schedule (e.g., if the chapter is completed on a Monday, the homework is due at the beginning of the Wednesday lab).  Late homework will receive no credit.

Lab (225 pts):  You must pass the lab in order to pass the course. Your lab grade will depend on your preparedness, technique, safety, lab notebook and your written reports, including any assigned problems. You can drop one lab, but you cannot drop either Experiment II or X, since each of these is a required lab.  Since labs cannot be made up, a missed lab will be the one dropped.  If you miss other labs, you will forfeit the points for those labs.   Grading of your lab notebook and doing the experiments will be worth 75 points total.  In order to receive credit for your notebook, you must turn it in for grading within one week of the date the experiment was completed.  There will be mid-term and final  lab exams covering experiments and techniques performed in the lab.  The lab exams together are worth 75 points total.  Three written lab reports, using approved formal report format, will be graded.  Two of these reports must include Experiments II and X.  The other report can be for Experiments III, V, VI, VII or VIII.  Lab reports are due one week after the experiment was completed (no exceptions will be made).  These formal written lab reports, all together, will be worth a total of 75 points (the formal report for Experiment X will be worth double the other reports).  Format for the written reports is available online (pay particular attention to the required format, including proper grammar, verb tense, and layout).