Instructor: W. E. Bentz

If you wish to see me at any other time when I am not in class, make an appointment personally.

COURSE PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS:

This course is designed for certain biology and science majors, engineers, and all others who desire a foundation in organic chemistry but who do not wish to study the subject for a full year. The student will become familiar with the shapes, nomenclature and reactions of the common types of organic molecules. Polymers in common use and molecules of biological interest will be the subjects of much discussion.

INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE:

Students who feel they need individual assistance with the material and assignments for this course should make an appointment with me or come during my scheduled office hours (see above).  To get the most effective help, students should seek assistance as soon as they experience confusion or difficulty with the coursework.  (Waiting until you have received low grades on exams and other assignments is not recommended!)

For additional assistance with the course, students should attend the GROUP TUTORING sessions that will be scheduled twice each week.  I will give you the time of the session by the end of the first week of class.  The tutor(s) have been carefully selected for this position.

If group tutoring sessions are insufficient to meet your needs, you can request an INDIVIDUAL TUTOR by contacting Beth Niles, the Tutoring Coordinator in Crandall Hall (located on Main Street across from the Bandstand, between the Fire Department and the playground; 871-2148).  Mrs. Niles will ask me to recommend potential tutors based upon strong performance in the course and then she will recruit those students to serve as a tutor.  This may take some time!  Avoid falling farther behind in the course material by seeking individual assistance from me while waiting for private tutoring to be arranged.

AND REMEMBER:  Tutors are a valuable resource, but I am the expert in the field.  Do not hesitate to ask for my assistance at any time, even if you are receiving tutoring.

HOMEWORK:

Homework assignments will be made to assist the student in digesting the large number of facts presented. Because organic chemistry builds continuously, it is essential that preceding information be mastered in order to understand each new topic. Homework assignments must be turned in on or before the due date. They will be checked for completeness, but each individual answer may not be graded. Homework assignments will constitute 10 % of your grade. Since answers will be available in MH 111 and on electronic reserve after the assignment is due, late homework will not be accepted. It will be accepted until 5:20 p.m. on the due date only.

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

During class I will frequently ask questions of the class. You should attempt to answer these questions when called upon. Don't worry about always being right. Often as much can be learned by the class from a wrong answer as from a correct one. You should also feel free to ask your questions at any time during class. People who miss more than three classes and/or rarely ask or answer questions will not receive class participation credit. I expect that each of you will take part in class discussion at least once per week, if not during every class. At times I may ignore those of you who are quicker to respond in order to allow everyone to be involved. Everyone will learn more if you are trying to answer every question. In short, you don't come to class to take notes that you will try to figure out at some later time. Let's try to understand the material as it is presented and discussed.

I AM NOT THE ENEMY

Nothing would give me a greater pleasure than to see each of you earn an A. This course is not graded on a curve. No one has to get a low grade. Take advantage of all of the opportunities to get assistance as soon as it is needed. Come to class, office hours and group tutoring. Everyone wants to help you. But you must take the initiative to seek that help.

ANSWER KEYS: On-Line MATERIALS: 

Blackboard

This course has an active Blackboard system account.  To access this from any browser, use http://blackboard.alfred.edu or go to the my.alfred.edu page and select Blackboard in the left column.  Your login name will be your "Outlook account" name and your password is the same as you e-mail account.  After login, select "Personal Information" to update this information.  Be sure to change your preferred e-mail account, if it is not Outlook.

Next, select Basic Organic Chemistry, or CHEM 457, under "COURSES".  The following course materials are available for the course under the active parts of Blackboard at present.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  This will be my primary method of getting special messages to you.  I recommend that you check it at least once per week.

COURSE INFOMATION:  The complete course syllabus is available.

FACULTY INFORMATION:  My telephone number and office location are here.  There are also direct links to my  e-mail and office hours.

COURSE DOCUMENTS:  There is a link to electronic reserves here.

ASSIGNMENTS:  All homework assignments will be posted here.

COMMUNICATIONS:  A class roster is here and an easy method to e-mail other members of the class.  Be sure that you have entered your preferred e-mail address after login.  (Note:  "All users" is everyone in this class only.)

EXTERNAL LINKS:  Occasionally I will put links here for items of interest for this course.  I'll use the announcement page to alert you to these links.

TOOLS:  A calendar for the course (exams and scheduled quizzes) is all that is activated right now.

TO ACCESS COURSE MATERIALS THROUGH MY WEB PAGE:

    You must have "Adobe Acrobat Reader" on your computer to read these materials.

        1.    Go to my web-page in your Web Browser at "http://people.alfred.edu/~fbentz/"

        2.    On my web-page, scroll down and select "Courses Taught" near the left side.

        3.    Under CHEM 310 select "Homework Keys", "Quiz Keys", "Current Exam Keys" or “Blank Former

               Exams”

        4.    Read the rules, then click "accept", if you do agree to abide by the rules.

        5.    Choose what you wish to look at; e.g.,

                  if you have selected homework keys, choose the due date you wish to view;

                  if you have selected quiz keys, choose the quiz you wish to view by date given;

                  if you have selected current exam keys, choose the exam you wish to view by date taken.

                  if you have selected former exams, choose the exam you wish to view by number.

        6.    If nothing appears, try shrinking the Netscape window, (upper right corner).

        7.    When the material appears on the screen, you may view it or print it.

        8.    Please do not hesitate to ask for help at either one of the AU Libraries

                (Scholes - 607-871-2492 or Herrick - 607-871-2184)

TO ACCESS COURSE MATERIALS THROUGH THE e-Res WEB PAGE:

    You must have "Adobe Acrobat Reader" on your computer to read these materials.

• Go to Electronic Reserve web-page in your Web Browser at http://eres.alfred.eduor go to

       my.alfred.edu and choose E-res under Academics in the left column.

        2.    Select "Electronic Reserves and Reserves Pages"

        3.    Choose "Course Reserves Pages by Instructor", find BENTZ under "Please select an instructor",

               then click "View"

        4.    Select  "CHEM 310" .

        5.    Read the rules, then click "accept", if you do agree to abide by the rules.

        6.    Choose which item you wish to view; most homework and quizzes are listed by date.

CELL PHONES:  The use of cellular telephones or pagers in the classroom and laboratory is rude and inconsiderate of the other people in that class.  Turn them off before you enter the laboratory or my classroom.  My policy is the following:  If it goes off or rings in my class, IT IS MINE, forever.
 
 

ATTENDANCE AND GRADING:

Regular attendance is expected at class. I define regular as being present at least 90% of the time. WHILE ATTENDANCE IS NOT A NUMERICAL FACTOR IN DETERMINING GRADES, THIS INSTRUCTOR IS NOT ABLE TO IGNORE IT IN BORDERLINE CASES. In addition you cannot take unscheduled quizzes or earn class participation credit if you are absent.

Your grade will be evaluated from the following:

Four 50-minute Examinations	500 points
Unscheduled Quizzes	100 points
Homework	100 points
Class Participation	50 points
Final Examination  Monday, May 7, 8:00 a.m.	250 points

Grading Scale:

	A	90-100%	B-	70-74 %	D+	54-56 %
	A-	85-89 %	C+	65-69 %	D	50-53 %
	B+	80-84 %	C	60-64 %	F	0-49 %
	B	75-79 %	C-	57-59 %

Tentative Examination Schedule: February 6(Tu), February 27(Tu), March 27(Tu), April 17(Tu).

Regular make-up examinations will not be given. A student who misses an examination due to illness or other emergency must submit, in writing, an excuse which must be not only logical, but also verified by the Dean of Students. If you are too sick to take an exam you must go to the health center. Then tell them they may tell me that you were there! A student with such an excuse will be given a make-up examination at the instructor's convenience. A student missing an exam for a reason which is not logical--such as oversleeping--will not be given a make-up exam but will receive a grade of zero for the missed exam.

UNSCHEDULED QUIZZES: (5 minutes in length)

Quizzes may occur on any day during the semester. No make ups will be given for unscheduled quizzes. The lowest unscheduled quiz will be disregarded. If more than one quiz is missed, zero grades will be used in calculating your quiz average..

REQUIRED TEXT:

Hart, Craine, Hart, "Organic Chemistry--A Short Course", 11th edition, 2003: ISBN 0-618-21536-0.

Available at the College Book Store, Powell Campus Center.

COURSE TOPICAL OUTLINE:

We wish to cover at least 16 chapters in the textbook. While this would require about one chapter per week, some variation will result depending upon the length of the chapter and the familiarity of the class with the material. Only selected portions of Chapters 15-18 will be covered.

Chapters:

1. Bonding and Isomerism
2. Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
3. Alkenes and Alkynes
4. Aromatic Compounds
5. Stereoisomerism
6. Organic Halogen Compounds
7. Alcohols, Phenols and Thiols
8. Ethers and Epoxides
9. Aldehydes and Ketones
10. Carboxylic Acids and Their Derivatives
11. Amines and Related Nitrogen Compounds
14. Synthetic Polymers
15. Lipids and Detergents
16. Carbohydrates
17. Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins
18. Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids