Chem 251 – Organic Chemistry
Fall 2011
Lecture – MWF 9:00 – 9:50, Shanklin 107
Prof. Erika A. Taylor
(a.k.a. Professor or Prof. T.)
Where/How you can reach me
142 Hall-Atwater Labs – office
eAtaylor@wesleyan.edu 
860-685-2739
Alternative likely locations
171 Hall-Atwater Labs – Taylor lab
Chemistry office
Pi Cafe
Prof. T.’s Course Goals:
 Introduce students to organic chemistry in an approachable fashion
 Encourage development of chemical intuition
 Increase confidence/competence with chemistry
 Inspire fun, learning and contemplation of chemistry, biochemistry and beyond
Class Resources:
 Prof. T.
o Student Consultation Hours (in my office)– Tuesday and Wednesday 2-4, or by appointment
o Other hours – You can drop by at any other time, but other obligations may require my
attention at those times; Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding
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Materials
Required
Textbook and Connect Access
(Solutions Manual - suggested)
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Highly
Recommended
Optional
Molecular Model Set
Additional Problems
Connect Access can be purchased directly on the class page in addition to at the bookstore. Our class
page is located at: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/e_taylor_fall_2012_1
Class handouts – available on Moodle.
Class lecture notes – available on Moodle after lecture.
TAs – student consultation hours and email addresses are posted on Moodle. Time slots designated
for assisting YOU will be available most days of the week. You should feel free to seek assistance
from any of the TAs; do not feel limited to your own section TAs.
Molecular models. A set of molecular models is Highly Recommended. They may be purchased at
the Cardinal Technology Center in the Usdan Campus Center. These may be used during exams, so
you should plan to have your own set.
Weekly mentored study sessions for those needing more help with the material.
Edited Last 9/3/2012
Chem 251 – Organic Chemistry
Fall 2011
Lecture – MWF 9:00 – 9:50, Shanklin 107
Evaluation (650 total points):
 Hour Exams. There will be four hour-exams, given on September 28, October 26, November 16
and December 7, from 8-9:50 am in 107 Shanklin. Each exam is worth 100 points, and the lowest
exam grade will be dropped.
 Final Exam. The final exam will be worth 200 points and will be divided into four sections
matching material from each of the four hour exams. If you score higher on a section of the final
than you did on the corresponding hour exam, I will replace your hour exam grade with the final
section grade. This allows a second chance to demonstrate your knowledge of the material and also
allows me to reward improvement.
 Homework Problems. There will be twelve problem sets and 100 points total will be given for
problem set (10 points each); this means that you have 2 freebies you can use throughout the
semester. Assigned problems will be posted on the McGraw Hill Connect site
(http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/connect/shortUrl.do?accessUrl=e_taylor_fall_2012_1) and will be
due the following Wednesday.
 Discussion Sections. You will meet with your section on a weekly basis to solve workshop-style
questions in small groups. The TAs are present in the sections as moderators and facilitators rather
than lecturers, and you will only get something out of the sections if you are willing to put
something in. After the workshop content is completed, this is a time to discuss questions with the
homework problems or lectures. Your participation is worth 50 points.
 Grade distribution: The course is graded on as straight scale by numeric %. Historically about 1/5
of the students earn an A- or better (100.0-90.0%) and about 2/3 of the students earn a B- or better
(100.0-80.0%).
Students with Disabilities:
It is the policy of Wesleyan University to provide reasonable accommodations to students with
documented disabilities. Students, however, are responsible for registering with Disabilities Services, in
addition to making requests known to me in a timely manner. If you require accommodations in this
class, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible [during the 1st week of the semester], so
that appropriate arrangements can be made. The procedures for registering with Disabilities Services can
be found at:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/disability-students.html.
Academic Honesty: Obviously, unauthorized assistance during an exam is cheating and will be dealt
with appropriately. However, you are strongly encouraged to discuss the course in any other setting, and
particularly in discussion sections.
Course Punchline
 This should be a fun, educational, and challenging semester. This class is designed to help you be a
successful experimental chemist (even if only for one semester). I am confident that you will do
really well, and I hope that some of you will start to get excited about both chemistry and lab work
(and possibly doing research) after taking this course.
Edited Last 9/3/2012
Chem 251 – Organic Chemistry
Fall 2011
Lecture – MWF 9:00 – 9:50, Shanklin 107
Is organic tough? Well, it’s not easy, but not as hard as you might have heard. However, it does take
time. Organic is not a memory course. Particularly during this first semester, the course is very much
about conveying ideas, like in a language course. But as a Wesleyan student, you should be able to
handle ideas and concepts. None of the concepts we discuss are difficult in themselves but sometimes
we need to invoke several of them at the same time in a given situation. That’s a skill that is called for in
any practicing professional, no matter what he/she does for a living. If you study organic the right
way, you should do well. If that doesn’t impress you, consider this fact: from years of precedent, we
know that at least 10% of the students in this class will find organic so interesting that they will decide
to work on a research project with one of the Wesleyan organic chemistry faculty members. Some will
even begin research while they’re still taking organic.
What do I mean by studying organic the “right” way? Since the course is about handling and
manipulating concepts, you need practice in doing this. Reading the book and taking good notes in
class simply aren’t enough. Those will help you to know what the concepts are that we use, but they
are passive activities. You need a more active way of learning how to deal with the ideas that we cover.
This means talking about organic chemistry and writing it out. Any one of the topics we take up has
more dimensions than can easily be presented in a book or lecture. Doing problems is absolutely
essential. Each of the problems assigned is designed to show how a given concept works out in practice
in a slightly different context. The more contexts under which you see the principle, the better you’ll be
able to deal with it. In general, there’s great value in both talking about the problems with others
and using a pen or pencil as you’re working on a problem! The very acts of talking and writing
actively engage your brain in the learning process, far more than just reading can. Work problems
in the book that haven’t been assigned; I have only assigned a small number of the problems, but they’re
all worthwhile.
What learning strategies should you use in the course? Remember, you’re not learning a set of facts
in the course. If the course were just facts, you could pull an all-nighter before each exam and use it to
pound the facts into your head. Some people still do try this. Unfortunately it doesn’t generally work,
because learning a concept is one thing; learning how to apply it takes practice (that’s what the problems
are for). You can’t get that practice by brute force the night before the course. No matter what your
other commitments, you should do a little organic chemistry every day. Its way better than letting
the course go for weeks at a time, then trying to catch up.
Here’s my recommendation for a way to handle the course. Doing the following will take no more time
than a series of all-nighters but will work much better:
1. Read a few sections at a time of the textbook. Try to stay even with the lectures in your
reading.
2. You might want to go over each day’s lecture notes later in the same day you take them, to
be sure you understand what was said.
3. Do a few problems every day. As I’ve said above, use a pencil constantly as you’re working
a problem; the very act of writing is a learning experience because it forces you to pay close
attention to the problem. If you can’t figure out a problem and you’ve made an honest effort
to do so, save it for discussion section. It’s not necessary that you solve every problem,
though it’s great if you can do so; it’s more important to know which problems you’re
having trouble with so you’re ready to discuss them in your discussion section meeting.
When the section meeting is over, you should, though, understand the problem and its
answer.
Edited Last 9/3/2012
Chem 251 – Organic Chemistry
Fall 2011
Lecture – MWF 9:00 – 9:50, Shanklin 107
Chemistry 251 Course Timeline (key dates) - Fall 2011
September 3 Course Introduction, Begin Ch 1 & Ch 2 sections 2.1, 2.5, 2.8, 2.9
September 12 Chapter 2
September 17 Chapter 3
September 21 Chapter 4
September 28 Exam 1
October 1
Chapter 5
October 8
Chapter 7
October 17
Chapter 6
October 26
Exam 2
October 29
Chapter 8
November 5
Chapter 10
November 12 Chapter 13
November 16 Exam 3
November 19 Continue Chapter 13
November 28 Chapter 11
December 3
Chapter 12
December 7
Exam 4 (Last day of class)
Edited Last 9/3/2012