CHEMISTRY 212/211 – Introductory Organic Chemistry I

FALL 2017
Course Information & Syllabus

Instructors Teaching Assistants

Professor Laura Pavelka Julie Ducharme Ali Mansour
Otto Maass 100 Otto Maass 210 Otto Maass 300

Professor Hanadi Sleiman John Hsu

Otto Maass 417 Otto Maass 400

Contact: please use chem212.chemistry@mcgill.ca for direct communications with instructors and TAs
Office Hours: the current instructor will be available after each class, 10:00 – 11:00 am, as well as the half
hour before each lab period in (1:00 – 1:30 MWRF, 2:00 – 2:30 T)

Course Information
Classes
CHEM-212/211 Tues/Thurs 8:35 – 9:55 am, Leacock 132

Tutorials and FRezCa (optional)

Wednesdays, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, Otto Maass 217 (lecture style tutorial with problem solving, recorded)
Tues/Thurs, 2:30 – 4:30 pm, Royal Victoria College Cafeteria (FRezCa, drop-in study center)
* additional intensive review sessions (Chem Cram) will be added before midterms/final exam

Labs (Otto Maass 128)

Mondays, 1:30 – 5:30 pm Thursdays, 1:30 – 5:30 pm
Tuesdays, 2:30 – 6:30 pm Fridays, 8:30 – 12:30 & 1:30 – 5:30 pm
Wednesdays, 8:30 – 12:30 & 1:30 – 5:30 pm
* additional information on lab contacts/information available in separate lab syllabus

Websites (myCourses)
http://www.mcgill.ca/lms click ‘myCourses’ and use McGill username and password
(or http://mymcgill.mcgill.ca to sign into ‘myMcGill’ and then click ‘myCourses’)
"Fall 2017 - CHEM-211-001 & CHEM-212-001" – lecture page
“Fall 2017 – CHEM-212-002/003/004/005/006/009/010/011/012 & CHEM-224-001” – lab page
* all course related information/material will be posted on myCourses

Chem 212 Facebook Group

If you have trouble logging into myCourses or myMcGill, please contact ITS Customer Service (ICS):
Phone: 514-398-3398
Email: customersupport.ist@mcgill.ca
Drop-in: 688 Sherbrooke Street, Room 285
Recommended Course Material
Textbook (McGill Bookstore, $103.50 – $200.95)
Organic Chemistry by Solomons & Fryhle (11th or 12th Edition)
Hard cover text + Study Guide & Solutions Manual $200.95
Binder ready version + Study Guide & Solutions Manual $163.95
e-Book text only $103.50
* copies of the text will also be available on reserve in the Schulich Library (Science/Engineering)

Sapling Online Learning (Saplinglearning.ca, $36 USD or McGill Bookstore, $45 CAD)
Sapling is a third party online homework system. This program provides excellent additional homework
assignments for each chapter. Sapling must be accessed directly from our myCourses lecture page.

Molecular Model Kit (McGill Bookstore, $18.95)

Model kits help you visualize and manipulate molecules in 3D. They are extremely helpful for
stereochemistry and conformations – and you can use them during exams!

Student Response System ‘Turning Point’

You can now use your personal electronic devices to engage in our student response system during class,
for free – just visit www.mcgill.ca/polling to register your account (using McGill username/password) and
follow the prompts. Dr. Laura Pavelka will encourage your participation during her section of the course.
Response data (in Chem 212) are only used to provide in class feedback – not for grades.

Organic Bytes (myCourses)

Organic bytes are pre-class online learning modules. They focus on introductory and review material for
each chapter. Please review the organic bytes notes and/or listen to the recordings before attending class.

Lecture Notes/Recordings (myCourses)

Fillable course notes will be available as pdf files on myCourses before lecture. We encourage you to
print the slides (4/6 per page), bring them with you to class, and add your own notes during lecture.
Lectures and tutorials will be recorded and available through the “Lecture Recordings” tab in myCourses.
We recommend that you attend class and use the recordings only as a review tool. If you have to miss a
class, make sure you view the missed lecture recording before rejoining the class.

Course Evaluation and Key Dates

Chem 212 Missed Midterm* Chem 211
Midterm I Thurs Oct 12, 6:15-8:30 pm 20% 30% (I or II) 25%
Midterm II Thurs Nov 16, 6:15-8:30 pm 20% ----- 25%
Final Exam Dec 7-20 (TBA) 35% (40%) 45% (50%) 45% (50%)
Laboratory 20% 20% -----
Sapling Online Learning 5% (0%) 5% (0%) 5% (0%)

Room assignments for midterms will be posted on myCourses ~24h before the exam.
Room assignments for the final exam are handled by the Exam Office (posted mid-November)

* If you are unable to write either midterm, you must contact Professor Pavelka before the exam – only
legitimate medical or academic excuses will be accepted. Students excused from writing a midterm will
have the points equally redistributed between the other midterm and final exam. In the unlikely event that
you miss both midterms, your final exam will be weighted 75%.
(If you are unable to write the final exam, you must contact McGill Service Point)
Learning Objectives
Chemistry 212/211 aims to provide you with a solid understanding of the properties, reactivity, and
applications of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives (i.e. alkyl halides). Our main focus is on
understanding chemical behavior in order to predict reactivity, rather than the mere memorization of
chemical transformations.

A deep understanding of chemical behavior requires practice, lots and lots of practice. We encourage you
to ‘study by doing’. You will have lots of practice problems (textbook, problem sets, Sapling, practice
exams), do them! Simply reading/re-writing your notes and watching/re-watching lectures will not
provide the level of understanding needed to succeed.

Believe it or not, organic chemistry is fun! … It is all about solving puzzles; it is just that these puzzles are
in the new language of making/breaking chemical bonds. But, fear not as you are not alone! Together we
will learn to think like an electron and build our organic language skills. As with any language, organic
chemistry has a steep learning curve and requires much time and regular practice to master, but before
you know it, you will be fluent!

Summary of Course Content

Topics Covered by Professor Pavelka (Sept 6 – Oct 26)

Review (Ch 1,2): Bonding and Molecular Structure, Functional Groups, Intermolecular Forces

Alkanes and Cycloalkanes (Ch 4): Properties, Nomenclature, Conformations

Stereochemistry (Ch 5): Definitions, Nomenclature, Applications

--Midterm 1--

Radical Halogenation (Ch 3,10): Acids/Bases Review, Reactions/Mechanisms

Alkyl Halides (Ch 3,6):, Reactions/Mechanisms (SN1, SN2, E1, E2), Applications and Synthesis

Alkenes and Alkynes part 1 (Ch 7): Synthesis, Reactions/Mechanisms

Topics Covered by Professor Sleiman (Oct 31 – Dec 5)

Alkenes and Alkynes part 2 (Ch 8): Reactions/Mechanisms (Electrophilic Additions)

--Midterm 2--

Conjugated Systems and Aromatic Compounds (Ch 13/14): Properties, Nomenclature, Aromaticity

Reactions of Aromatic Compounds (Ch 15): Synthesis, Reactions/Mechanisms (Electrophilic Aromatic

Substitution, Side Chain Reactions)

Laboratory – Chem 212 only (see lab syllabus for more details)

Instructors

Laura Pavelka Mike Daoust

Ott Maass 100 Otto Maass 128
laura.pavelka@mcgill.ca mike.daoust@mcgill.ca

* for general questions related to the labs, see Mike Daoust

* for grading/content questions related to the labs, see Laura Pavelka

Laboratory starts the week of September 11th with mandatory introductory lecture and lab activity. Personal
safety equipment is not necessary for the initial session. Come to the lab (Otto Maass 128 in the first floor
of Otto Maass) according to your scheduled lab section. All lab information will be available through our
lab myCourses page (including the lab syllabus, lab schedule, and lab manual). The lab manual will only
become available to you after you read the lab syllabus and general report guidelines.

Lab coats and safety glasses will be available for sale in the Holmes Room (basement of Otto Maass) during
the first few weeks of class. These items will be required starting the second week of labs (week of Sept
18th). The laboratory counts for 20% of the course grade in Chem 212.

Lab Exemption

If you are repeating this course, you could be eligible for a lab exemption. You must have passed the lab
component within the past 3 years. Contact Laura Pavelka to confirm your eligibility for a lab exemption
and obtain authorization. When exempted from the labs, your lab grade is transferred from the term when
you previously completed the lab component.

McGill Policy Statements

Academic Integrity (approved by Senate on 29 January 2003)
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and
consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct
and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ for more information)

Language (approved by Senate on 21 January 2009)

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to
submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.

Course Evaluation
In the event of extraordinary circumstances, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is
subject to change.

Please be clear that no instructor at McGill is authorized to alter the time/date of a final exam or to offer a
special writing opportunity; these issues can only be dealt with at the McGill Service Point. If you have
too many exams in a short period of time consult: http://www.mcgill.ca/conted-students/exams/conflicts/