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Dr. Robert J. Morgan |
Office: S-486 Phone: 304-696-3159 |
Prerequisites: Chemistry 212.
Course Description: The course covers approximately 90% of the material contained in an
Organic I course, with a strong emphasis on the basics. It is designed for:
1. Students who have struggled in
Organic Chemistry
2. Students who have not had
General chemistry in a number of years, and would like a preview of Organic
Chemistry I
3. Anyone who feels uncomfortable entering Organic Chemistry I.
4. Anyone who needs a refresher in Organic Chemistry I
Policy
for Students with Disabilities:
Marshall
University is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students,
including those with physical, learning and psychological disabilities.
University policy states that it is the responsibility of students with
disabilities to contact the Office of Disabled Student Services (DSS) in
Prichard Hall 117, phone 304 696-2271 to provide documentation of their disability.
Following this, the DSS Coordinator will send a letter to each of the student's
instructors outlining the academic accommodation he/she will need to ensure
equality in classroom experiences, outside assignment, testing and grading. The
instructor and student will meet to discuss how the accommodation(s) requested
will be provided. For more information, please visit http://www.marshall.edu/disabled
or
contact Disabled Student Services Office at Prichard Hall 11, phone
304-696-2271.
Note for students with
visual impairments:
This course contains a substantial number of graphics files that cannot be
adequately described as text equivalents. If you contact the instructor
arrangements can be made to provide the source files for the graphics and/or
Braille embossed high resolution graphics.
Since this syllabus is rather
long, I have included some hyperlinks to help you find specific information.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:
University policy states that any act
of a dishonorable nature which gives the student engaged in it an unfair
advantage over others engaged in the same or similar course of study is
prohibited. You must do you own work inside and outside of this class.
Cheating/plagiarism in or out of this class is
prohibited.
You will be given a
final grade of F for any instance of academic dishonesty. I am happy to assist
you with anything you do not understand or have questions about. Cheating in
this course includes, but is not
limited to:
l. Recording identical answers
and screen captures as a classmate for your assignments.
lI.
Plagiarizing material from the textbook or readings. To avoid plagiarism,
read all assigned material first; complete your exercises second; then base
your written answers to review questions on yourexperience;
only refer to the textbook or readings as necessary.
Required
Materials
Computer and Software Requirements
Contacting the Instructor
Course Objectives
How This Course Is Organized
List of Topics to Be Covered
Time Requirement
Target Dates and Deadlines
Grading Policies
Instructor Biographical Information
Texts:
1. David R. Klein, Organic Chemistry I, translating the basic concepts, 2nd
Ed, John Wiley and Sons, 2008 ISBN: 978-0470-12929-6 This book can be ordered online from the Marshall University
Bookstore or they will take phone orders at 304-696-2461.
2.
William Reusch, Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry, http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/intro1.htm
(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
License. Virtual Text of Organic Chemistry 1999. An interactive textbook
covering the usual topics treated in a college sophomore-level course. Links
are offered to advanced discussions of selected topics.)
Suggested Materials:
It is recommended that you
have a textbook in Organic Chemistry. This book will be used for background
reading. Nearly any textbook designed for a one year sequence in Organic
Chemistry will do. e-mail me if you have a doubt as to
whether the one you have will be sufficient. If you are taking this course in
preparation of a course in organic chemistry choose the book that will be used
in that course. This way you will become familiar with it.
I also have included
references to Professor William Reusch's, Virtual
Textbook of Organic Chemistry. I have found this to be a convenient and
wonderful source of background information. Best of all, it's free.
http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/intro1.htm
Whenever you
need help with the course or just want to ask a question about anything, you
should feel free to contact me. I am a full time professor in the Chemistry
Department at
The best
method for contacting me is by e-mail. I tend to check my email a couple of
times a day on regular class days. I tend to reply to e-mail as I receive it.
On weekends or when classes are not in session, this is by far the best way to
contact me. I usually check e-mail in the evenings. You may use the e-mail
that is internal to the course by clicking on the MAIL icon on the main
page. Alternately, you may send e-mail to morganr@marshall.edu. On
weekends or evenings. CC: your message to rjm8008@cs.com.
(Especially if you believe the
Please note
that while we tend to think of e-mail as being a nearly instantaneous means of
communication there are times that there are significant delays in e-mail
transmissions. Under certain circumstances it has been known to take as
much as 48 hours for an e-mail message to get between a
I will also
often be available in the evenings on Blackboard. If I am visible and available
send me a chat invitation. Be patient, as I might have wandered from the
computer.
I will establish an e-mail list that will be used to make general
announcements. Your
This course is a basic course in organic chemistry, and it is aimed
specifically at students who have struggled in organic chemistry I, feel they
need a refresher course in Organic Chemistry I, or want to have a self-paced
preview of Organic Chemistry I. This course only assumes you have a basic
knowledge of General Chemistry. The introductory units will give you most of
the background you need. At the end of this course, it is expected that you
will have learned the basic skills required to be successful in Organic
Chemistry. These include:
Using the course
materials
This course is strongly based
on the included lecture notes. They are your primary source of information in
the course. They follow a, “How to approach”, and are designed to teach you the
basic skills required for success in organic chemistry. This is primarily a
skills course, and I have not included that much, theoretical content. My aim
here is not to teach you all of Organic Chemistry I, but to show you how to
succeed in that course.
The book by Klein is also a
book aimed at helping you to develop all the basic skills required in Organic
chemistry. It's a great companion to any organic chemistry text. The book focuses on the basic skills needed
to succeed in organic chemistry. I tend to skip around in that book. Follow the
reading references contained in each unit.
For background information
you can use Dr.
Reuch's text or any other organic text.
Organization of the
Course:
Chemistry is a subject that
builds on a foundation. You cannot understand the later topics unless you
understand the earlier topics. You cannot go on to a new topic until you
have mastered the current one. This is especially true of organic chemistry.
Having a poor understanding of the early topics will haunt you throughout the
course. To prevent this I stop you at the end of each topic and give you one or
more quizzes. You must make 80% (or higher) to go on to the next quiz or unit.
Only the highest score will count so you can never lower your grade by
attempting to improve your score on a quiz, and you may take the quiz as many
times as you wish. Most students read the lecture nots
and try the quiz. If you find you are guessing, go back to the lecture notes
and then try the quiz again. Use the quizzes in your studying. The only
requirement is that you wait a few minutes between each attempt.
When you first start the
course, only one topic will be available to you. Whenever you complete a
topic, a new one will become available. All of the older ones will stay
available so that you can review them as needed. You can find a list of all the
quizzes and exams below.
I divided the course into 26 units, with 43 quizzes.
-- Essentially starting a new topic at the point where I would normally
end a lecture session in a regular course (“Brick and mortar”), although a few
units are longer and a few are shorter. Each unit will have between one
and three quizzes associated with it. You should be able to complete some
topics in a few minutes but some will take an hour or more.
More on the quizzes,
exams and final
The course is divided into
three roughly equal sized parts. There is an hour exam after you complete
each of these parts. Each of these parts is about the size of one lecture
exam in an Organic chemistry course. Click here for a
detailed list of the topics.
The quizzes are your main
learning vehicle. They have between 5 and 10 questions, and there is no time
limit. Your object is not to get the questions correct! Your object is to
figure out why you are getting questions wrong. Use the quizzes to learn the
material in the lecture notes.
The exams are longer, and are
based on the quizzes. The final is based on the exams.
NOTE
WELL: In a normal classroom setting for this course you would be expected
to attend approximately 45 hours of lectures. You would also be expected to
spend roughly double that amount of time studying for the course outside of
class. The e-course format does not work magic -- you should expect to
spend at least the same number of hours completing this course. Do not
put off working on the course and then expect to be able to complete it in a
couple of days. Be sure to try to meet the target dates so that you can
successfully complete the course.
Students
in this course have a maximum of one semester (session) to complete the course.
As is mentioned in the grading section of this syllabus, there is a target date
for each of the hour examinations. You should try very hard to meet these
targets. Otherwise, you will probably have trouble completing the
course. Important dates for the Spring of 2011 are:
.
There will be three hour exams and a final exam in addition to the
quizzes. The quizzes will count for one third of the final average.
The three hour exams will all have the same weight and will account for one
half of the final average. The final exam will account for the remaining
one sixth of the final average.
Letter grades will be then be
assigned based on the following scale for the final average.
I
want to encourage students to complete this course in a timely manner. If you
take full advantage of the incentives outlined above, you can raise your grade
by almost half a letter grade.
The hour exams will be given on-line. There is a time
limit on the exams and it will be enforced by the computer -- no answers will
be accepted after the time limit on an exam. You will get the graded exam
back with your score and feedback on your errors. Exams are closed book,
closed notes. You are on your honor to take the exams without any assistance
and without referring to any materials other than a basic periodic table.
The final exam will be handled the same way as the hour
exams. You only get one attempt on each exam.
The quizzes are all taken on-line and the scores and the
correct answers are available to you as soon as you complete the quiz.
I
received my B.S. in Chemistry from
My research
interests are currently in synthesis of ligands and development of fluorescent
dyes, for which I hold two Patents. My hobbies include is raising
Koi, and growing fruit, for which I have been known to make a gallon or two of
wine a year.