CHEM212A - Organic Chemistry I

Fall 2023 with Dr. Kelli Gottlieb

This is a fully in-person course. There is no online option for attending lab nor lecture.

This is the welcome letter for CHEM212A! This letter outlines some of the policies and the timeline for the course. The syllabus for the course, which fully outlines all policies and procedures for this course, will be available on the first day of the fall semester. This letter is subject to change! It was last updated 4/28/2023.

Please pay special attention to the description of the workload, the pacing of the course, and the tentative quiz an exam dates before deciding to take this course!

 

CHEM212A is the first of the two-semester organic chemistry series at Cuesta College. This course serves as the foundation for organic chemistry. Organic chemistry is the study of carbon-containing compounds. More specifically, CHEM212A focuses on:

• acidity and basicity of molecules
• nomenclature of organic compounds, including alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, and alcohols
• the influence of atom hybridization and orbitals in the reactivity and stability of molecules
• the effect of 3D shape of a molecule on reactivity
• analysis of chemical reactions, including the flow of electrons and the effect of reactants on the rate of a reaction
• use of IR spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry in the interpretation of chemical structure

The laboratory component incorporates material from lecture and places a specific emphasis on laboratory technique, safety, data analysis,  and observation.

 

Instructor:

Dr. Kelli Gottlieb (kelli_gottlieb@cuesta.edu) lab and lecture instructor

Email is the best way to get in touch with me. If you email me, please allow at least 24 hours for a reply. I generally do not check my email after 8pm. I also often do not check email on Saturdays. Emails must be sent from either your CUESTA email or through Canvas. I will not send a meaningful response to any emails from non-Cuesta emails due to privacy (FERPA) concerns.

 

Course Information:

CHEM212A - CRN 70367

Course website: Canvas (cuesta.instructure.com - log in with your Cuesta username)

• Canvas access tutorial.
• Click here for help with any Canvas issues

Course dates: 8/14/2023 - 12/15/2023
Full Canvas Availability: 8/14/2023 after our first class meeting
Final Exam: 12/11/2023 from 9:45 - 11:45am (there are no other times available to take this exam)

The lecture portion of this course follows an inverted classroom format. Students will watch videos of lecture material outside of the classroom and then work on problem solving in the classroom with the instructor and their classmates. 

 

Lecture Meetings:

You should only be enrolled in the course if you know you can meet during the times listed on ClassFinder. These times will not be the sum total of what you need to work on for this class; this is just the time you will be expected to be in the classroom.

This course is fast paced. You are expected to keep up with the material by sticking to the deadlines and guidelines provided on Canvas. There is a lot of work in-class as well as studying and work to be done out of class as well. You can count on the following each week:

• something due in lab (a prelab, a lab report, and/or another lab activity)
  
  • Remember that the lab component of this course is six (6) hours in lab per week. You can expect to be doing a good deal of work for lab this semester, including data collection and data analysis. 
• Online lecture content to read and watch and an online homework assignment to complete to prepare for a lecture meeting.
• In-class assignments that will be completed outside of the class if not completed in the classroom.

This list details the in-class time requirements. Outside of class, you'll need to study and do practice on your own to succeed in class. It is a very heavy workload. You can count on a minimum of 2-3 hours/unit per week, it adds up to a lot of hours (your mileage may vary, depending on your comfort with the material - some people may take longer or shorter). This is a 5-credit hour courseload with the work to match.

 

Lab Meetings:

You will be required to attend your scheduled in-person lab meetings two days a week. You should not be enrolled in the course if you do not have the time available in your schedule as most lab meetings will take the entire lab period. You cannot pass the class without participation in the in-person lab component of this course. You must earn a 70% in the lab portion of the course to pass the class. 

Students are required to follow the current district policies regarding personal protective equipment, sanitization, distancing, and other related  measures to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Students who do not comply will not be permitted in the laboratory and will be referred to the Vice President of Student Services for non-compliance with the Student Code of Conduct.

 

 

Class and Electronic Device Requirements

If you believe (based on your personal knowledge and your self-assessment survey results) that you can be successful online, you will need the following:

• You must have constant access to a reliable computer (minimum specs for a reliable computer). This should be most days of the week, not just the days our class meets (you'll want regular access to our materials on Canvas).
• Your computer must have a webcam and a microphone. Quizzes and exams will be proctored on Zoom so you will need to have a webcam for proctoring (we will be using proctoring software). 
• You must have a reliable Internet connection, meaning you can be on conferencing software, Canvas, and download and upload documents. 
• A device for scanning. This can be a scanner or a phone app that scans (there are many free ones out there! I will provide some examples once we get started). 
• Optional but highly recommended: a reliable way to print documents (like a printer). This isn't mandatory but will be really useful to you as we go through the semester. It wouldn't be considered reliable if you need to pay a lot of money to be able to print (there will be alternatives).
• You must have access to your my.Cuesta.edu email account (or have successfully set up email forwarding to your third party email provider).
• You must have access to Canvas, Cuesta College's learning management system (LMS).
• You must have a backup plan in case your internet provider or computer goes down.  For issues related to accessing Cuesta's Canvas Site, email: support@my.cuesta.edu. 
• You must have a good understanding of the following online activities to succeed in this course: email, internet navigation, online communication, pdf creation (as well as other file-types), document uploading and downloading.

 

Required Materials

The following items listed below are the only course-specific materials you will need for this course.  Retailers may “suggest” or “recommend” additional items (e.g., lab coats, laminated Periodic Tables, study guides, etc.).  Those are not required for this course and you do not need to purchase them.  You will need:

• Organic Chemistry, Wade and Simek, 9^th Ed. (8th edition will work, won't match my notes perfectly but I'll have section differences indicated on Canvas)
  • Book ISBN 978-0321971371 (9th edition) - don't buy from the bookstore unless you have vouchers or financial aid
  • You can also use the e-text, I won't mandate a physical copy. 
• A Microscale Approach to Organic Laboratory Techniques, (Pavia, et. al) 6th edition (5th will work but won't match in-class materials)
  • Book ISBN 978-1305968349 (6th edition) - don't buy from the bookstore unless you have vouchers or financial aid
• Molecular Modeling Kit: You will need a molecular modeling kit for a number of the activities we'll do in class. A lot of what we do in this class is in three dimensions, including manipulating molecules and rotating around bonds. This can be very difficult to do in your head without very much experience.
  • I will be using this kit but  it is ridiculously expensive just about everywhere (I splurged for mine but I use it a lot). There are plenty of good quality kits out there that will do the job without breaking the bank (here, here, and here, for example). Just about any organic chemistry kit (with linear, trigonal planar, and tetrahedral pieces) will work; if it isn't one of the ones linked, check before purchasing!
• Safety Goggles for in-person lab meetings 
  • I recommend the UVEX Stealth, especially if you will be taking more chemistry courses after this course.  While these are available in the bookstore, they are overpriced! I recommend looking online for a better deal. 
  • If you want to purchase goggles that are not the UVEX Stealth before the semester begins from somewhere besides the bookstore, PLEASE contact me and check that they are acceptable. The goggles must be chemical splash goggles with the appropriate certification (Z87+); do not purchase just any goggles.
  • Do not purchase safety glasses! They are not permitted.
• A Newell-Brand Sharpie permanent marker. This needs to be an on-brand marker or else it won't work in the lab. 
• LabArchives Access ($20): We will use this software for our lab notebook this semester. Wait to purchase this until the semester begins. 
• AktivChemistry Access ($35 or $50): We will use AktivChemistry as our online homework system for this semester. Wait to purchase this until the semester begins.
• Calculator: You will not need a graphing calculator; we'll be using scientific calculators exclusively in this class.