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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.
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
use Dr. Reuch's text or any other organic text. You'll have to flesh out some of the lecture
notes.
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 Summer of 2010 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.
Since 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. I will post reminders of the target dates on the bulletin board from
time to time so be sure to check the bulletin board for this.
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.