CHEM 226: Organic Chemistry Laboratory. Spring, 2014
Instructor: Dr. Mallory Cortez, Ph. D.
Office: 133 Beauregard Hall
Phone: 985-448-4167
e-mail: mallory.cortez@nicholls.edu
Course Meeting: 56T: Tues. and Thurs., 01:30-4:20 pm Room: Beauregard Hall 244
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 9:00 am -12:00 pm – 1:05
Tues/Thurs 9:00 am-11:00 am
Fri
By appointment only at least 2 days in advance
Whenever I am in the office you are welcome to come in and ask questions.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: CHEM 226. Organic Chemistry Laboratory. 2-0-6. Prerequisite: CHEM
110. Prerequisite or Corequisite: CHEM 222. An introduction to the study of the properties and
preparation of organic compounds. (40.0504)
PREREQUISITES/COREQUISITE: CHEM 110, CHEM 222
REQUIRED TEXTS AND OTHER MATERIALS:
1. James Zubrick, The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, A Student’s Guide to Techniques
2. Safety Goggles—Approved by instructor available in Bookstore
3. Notebook—bound, duplicating notebook with tear out sheets. Available in Bookstore
4. Laboratory Procedures available on Blackboard (be sure they are printed out before class).
REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: Organic journal articles as assigned.
COURSE GOALS: The student will develop an understanding of and employ proper techniques
used in organic synthesis, data collection, product analysis, and documentation. The student
will also develop skills in chemical literature search and critical analysis of relevant chemical
literature.
STUDENT OUTCOME OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this course the student will be able to
 Synthesize various organic compounds
 Identify organic compounds using infra-red spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography,
gas chromatography, and nuclear magnetic resonance
 Identify organic compounds using traditional wet chemistry techniques.
 Prepare scientific reports utilizing chemical journal articles
 Discuss critical analyses of chemical journal articles
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Students will perform all experiments using proper safety practices.
Prelabs:
5 points/experiment
Lab Report:
10 points/experiment
Post Labs Questions: 5 points/experiment
13 experiments
Formal report: 50 points
Experiment#9
Midterm Exam:
Lit Review Presentation:
1H
NMR, 13C NMR and IR assignment
Total Points
260 points
50 points
100 points
50 points
50 points
510 points
Pre LAB Question. The purpose of prelabs is to prepare you for the experiment. Make sure you
read and understand the lab. I will post the prelab questions ahead of time before the
experiment.
POST LAB QUESTIONS: I will post the postlab questions on moodle. The purpose of postlab
questions is to see whether you understood the techniques you performed during the
experiment.
LAB REPORT: Every experiment you will perform has to be reported in your laboratory
notebook as a lab report. The lab report will be due one week after the experiment. Please see
the details below under NOTEBOOK to see how to write a lab report.
FORMAL REPORT : You will write a formal report on Biosynthesis of Ethanol from Molasses
experiment#09. This report should be written in the form of a scientific journal. Details on how
to write a formal report will be discussed.
MIDTERM EXAM: You will have a midterm exam on 10/14/2013. The midterm exam will cover
all the materials you have learned up to this time.
1H
NMR, 13C NMR and IR assignment: This is a take home assignment.
Literature Review Presentation: No more than 10 slides, the students will give a 10-15 minute
presentation on a current scientific journal article pertaining to chemistry. We will discuss
literature searches and choosing an interesting article in class.
METHOD OF EVALUATION:
A straight percentage is used to determine grade.
90%-100% A
80%-89% B
65%-79% C
55%-64% D
NOTEBOOK
Notebooks must be written legibly to avoid loss of points. I want all parts listed below in all lab
reports unless otherwise noted.

TITLE

DATE

PURPOSE: Describe what is expected of the laboratory. This should be only one or two
sentences, in your own words--do not copy from the manuals.

THEORY: Summarize the theory about the experiment

PROCEDURE: Read the lab and be familiar with what will be happening. After the experiment
describe how you carried out the experiment briefly in your own words.

DATA TABLE: Listing of all of the reagents and solvents used in the experiment. List in table
form only.
reagent or
product

CHEMICAL
molecular
weight
EQUATIONS:
mass
used or
produced
moles
used or
produced
melting
point
boiling
point
density
solubility in
solvents used.
Write all of the major chemical reactions and side reactions for the
experiment.

OBSERVATIONS: All data and everything that occurs in lab as it happens. Colors, smells,
amounts used, mixing, temperatures, apparatus used, time for reaction, spills if they occur
etc. Draw pictures if appropriate, use tables, graphs, equations, etc. Record details such as
Instrument name and make, model number and serial number, chemical manufacturer,
grade, lot number, expiration date, etc.

CALCULATIONS: Theoretical yield and percent yield. You must show all the calculations.

CONCLUSION: Write the final conclusion
Safety: Safety in this class is very important, and as such, you will be required to wear safety
goggles at all times. Failure to wear the safety goggles will result in up to 20 points subtracted
from your lab reports per day. Reminding you twice in a lab period will result in a loss of 5
points, 3 reminders will result in a loss of 10 pts, and 4 reminders will result in your removal
from the class and a 0 on your lab report.
MAKE-UP POLICY: No make-ups are allowed for the experimental or discussion portion of the
class. Late laboratory reports will be deducted 5 points per day (including weekends).
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY: Any student found cheating, including plagiarism, will be subject to
the penalties as stated in the Student Code of Conduct handbook; including but not limited to a
score of zero on exam, review or report, expulsion from the class or expulsion from the
University.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance is mandatory. This is a laboratory class. You must be present to complete the
requirements. The sign in sheet will be available at the beginning of the class and it is your
responsibility to sign your name to show that you attended the lab. For every un-excused
absence, your grade will drop by one letter. If you miss a laboratory with an excused absence,
you will still have to submit the lab report by getting the data from your lab partners and
understanding the experiment.
SEMESTER WITHDRAWALS: The last day to withdraw from the class with a “W” is March 28th 2014.
ACADEMIC DISABILITIES POLICY: If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you
will need to register with the Office of Disability Services for coordination of your academic
accommodations. The Office of Disability Services is located in Peltier Hall, Room 100-A. The
phone number is (985) 448-4430 (TDD 449-7002).
ACADEMIC GRIEVANCES. The proper procedure for filing grade appeals or grievances related to
academic matters is listed in Section 5 of the Code of Student Conduct and at he following link:
http://www.nicholls.edu/documents/student_life/code_of_conduct.pdf .
ASSISTANCE WITH STUDYING AND ASSIGMENTS
The Tutoring Center at 143 Peltier Hall. Call 985-448-4100, email: tutoring@nicholls.edu, or
visit http://www.nicholls.edu/academic-enhancement/
The Writing Center at 144 Peltier Hall. Call 985-448-4100, email: tutoring@nicholls.edu, or
visit http://www.nicholls.edu/academic-enhancement/
Online Tutoring through Moodle. Look for the Brainfuse log-in link on the home
page,http://moodle2.nicholls.edu/moodle/
CONTINUED LEARNING FOLLOWING AN EXTREME EMERGENCY:
In order to make continued learning possible following an extreme emergency, students are
responsible for:
 Reading regular emergency notifications on the NSU website;
 Knowing how to use and access Blackboard/moodle;
 Being familiar with emergency guidelines;
 Evacuating textbooks and other course materials;
 Knowing their moodle student login and password;
 Contacting faculty regarding their intentions for completing the course.

Faculty are responsible for:




The development in the use of the moodle software;
Having a plan for continuing their courses using only Blackboard and email;
Continuing their course in whatever way suits the completion of the course best, and
being creative in the continuation of these courses;
Making adjustments or compensations to a student’s progress in special programs with
labs, clinical sequences or the like only in the immediate semester following the
emergency.
Note: This is not a binding contract. This syllabus is subject to change throughout the course.
CLASS DISRUPTIONS: The use of cellular phones, pagers or any other electronic personal devices is
prohibited in class. Any infractions will result in class being dismissed and experiments
considered over.
This includes but not limited to





using your phone as timer—get a watch or I will supply stopwatches if needed,
going to the hallway while a experiment is ongoing to check on texts.
texting or calling or receiving incoming calls or texts
receiving alerts regarding incoming texts or calls
using phone as alarm system.
Note: This is not a binding contract. This syllabus is subject to change throughout the course.
Tentative Schedule
Day
01/23
Experiment
General Information
Check In/Safety
01/28
Melting Point Determination (Manual: Ch. 12)
Experiment # 1
01/30
Purifying Acetanilide by Recrystallization (Manual: Ch. 13)
Experiment# 2
02/04
Synthesis and Characterization of Aspirin (Klein Ch. 21.9)
Experiment# 3
02/06
Synthesis and Characterization of Aspirin (Klein Ch. 21.9)
Experiment# 3, cont
part 2
02/11
Extracting Caffeine from Tea leaves (info. On alkaloids:
Experiment# 4
Klein Ch. 23.1; info. Manual about Extractions: Ch. 15)
02/13
Greener Bromination of E-Stilbene (Klein Ch. 9.8)
Experiment# 5
02/18
Dehydration of cyclohexanol (Klein, Ch. 8 and Ch. 13.9 E1
Experiment# 6
and E2 reactions)
02/20
Friedel-Crafts Acetylation of Ferrocene (Klein Ch. 19.6)
Experiment# 7
02/25
Friedel-Crafts Acetylation of Ferrocene (Klein Ch. 19.6)
Experiment# 7, cont.
02/27
Lecture on IR ( Infrared spectroscopy) (Klein Ch. 15)
03/04
Mardi Gras Holiday
03/06
Lecture on IR ( Infrared spectroscopy) (Klein Ch. 15) and
EAS
03/11
Electrophilic Aromatic Iodination of Vanilline (Klein Ch. 19)
03/13
Review of Midterm Exam
03/18
Midterm Exam
03/20
Start experiment: Biosynthesis of Ethanol from Molasses
Lecture on NMR 1H, 13 C (Klein Ch. 16)
Start experiment: Solid-Phase Photochemistry ([2+2]
cycloaddition, Klein Ch. 17.8)
Lecture on NMR 1H, 13 C (Klein Ch. 16)
Lecture on NMR 1H, 13 C (Klein Ch. 16)
IR/NMR Assignment Assigned
Solid-Phase Photochemistry: Rotate the flask / Exp #10
Continue: Biosynthesis of ethanol experiment
03/25
03/27
04/01
Experiment# 8
Experiment# 9
Experiment# 10
IR and NMR assignment
Experiment# 10
04/03
Set up: Biodiesel Experiment
Experiment# 11
04/08
Finish: Solid-Phase Photochemistry. Workup and
Experiment# 9
purification Experiment
Experiment # 11
Finish: Biodiesel experiment: Analyzing IR of Biodiesel
04/10
A: Reductions Reactions of 3-Nitroacetophenone Tin and
Experiment# 12
HCl (Klein Ch. 23.4)
04/15
Experiment B: Reductions Reactions of 3-
Experiment# 13
Nitroacetophenone NaBH4 (Klein Ch. 13.4)
04/17
IR Lab: Analyzing the Products of experiments A and B
Experiment# 12 and 13
IR/NMR assignment Due
NMR/IR Assignment due
Ex. Lit review Presentation by Dr. Cortez
04/22
Spring Break
No Class
04/24
Spring Break
No Class
04/29
Nylon and Check Out
Experiment # 14
05/01
Literature Presentations
Formal Report Due
05/06
Last Class : Literature Presentations