Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Catalog description

This course is designed to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of fundamental organic chemistry laboratory methods, experimental design, data analysis and collaboration. Students will work in small groups to develop hypotheses and design experiments to optimize a chemical reaction in terms of yield and greenness. They will apply standard analytical techniques, including thin layer and gas chromatography to monitor reaction progress. Students will characterize reaction products using common methods, including melting point analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Students will also develop skills in communication by preparing oral presentations and written reports in formats common to chemistry, including group meeting style presentations, laboratory notebooks, and reports. This 0.5-credit course consists of 4 hours of laboratory time with 1.2-2.5 hours per week of required preparation and post-lab analysis.