CH317L/Fall 2006	Organic Chemistry Lab I
R 2:25-6:15 pm	Room 325

CH 317 Syllabus

Course Description | Course Objectives | Classroom Conduct | Experiments| Grades | Grading Scale | Comments| Course Assessment |

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Text: Kenneth Williamson, Organic Experiments. 9th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company

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Course Description

Introduction to lab techniques in organic chemistry; extraction, purification, and chromatographic analysis. Basic qualitative analysis of functional groups and separation of compounds of different functional groups. Corequisite: CH 317.0:4:1

Course Objectives

On completion of this course the student should:
• Understand the reasons behind the importance of lab safety.
• Describe safety procedures and apply them through their behavior during the laboratory experience.
• Be efficient in crystallization and melting point determination
• Know how to perform a distillation, extraction, vacuum filtration
• Describe and perform chromatography:
• Perform qualitative analysis of functional groups
• Introduced to IR spectroscopy
 

Classroom Conduct

THE FOLLOWING ARE TO BE OBSERVED DURING ALL LAB CLASSES

1. You must always wear goggles/glasses in the lab. You may purchase these at a local hardware store or from the instructor. If you are considering taking organic chemistry, you should buy goggles.
2. Absolutely no eating, drinking or smoking in the lab.
3. You should consider taking the lab another time if you are pregnant.
4. No shorts or short skirts in the lab.
5. Tie long hair.
6. Always wear shoes in the lab.
7. PUNCTUALITY IS A MUST. All lab instructions are given during the first few minutes of class, hence if you miss those you will either not know what to do or you will disturb your colleagues. The door of the laboratory will be closed after the first five minutes of the lab session.
8. Everyone is expected to be cautious and take their work seriously in the lab.
9. There should be no pranks or running around in the lab.
10. It is always better to look around and move, you may be safe yourself but you might hurt your neighbor.
11. Always call the instructor to your bench, do not carry around samples around if possible.

You will not be allowed to do the lab if any of the above are not followed.

Excused Absence: You can be excused from the lab only if a valid excuse can be presented. The validity of the excuse is totally up to the instructors discretion.

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Experiments to be covered

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Grading

80% Lab reports

Working in the lab: Everyone is expected to be cautious and take their work seriously in the lab. There should be no pranks or running around in the lab. It is always better to look around and move, you may be safe yourself but you might hurt your neighbor.

Punctuality in the lab : Most instructions and safety precautions for the lab are given in the beginning of the lab session hence it is mandatory that everyone be punctual to the lab. Anyone late by 5 mins might consider not coming to the lab at all that day. The door of the laboratory will be closed after the first five minutes of the lab session.

Final Exam : There is no final exam for the lab. Grade will be determined as above.

• You are encouraged to attend all labs - simply because no credit will be given for the lab that is missed or report not turned in - i.e. no makeup labs will be given.
• Each lab is linked with the other in terms of techniques in an organic lab. You might lag behind in techniques if you miss any lab.
• One experiment may require two lab days ie a total of 4 hours. Hence if you miss the first part of the experiment consider the whole lab as missed.
• Each student should have a lab notebook which should have hardcover on the outside and ruled/lined paper inside. Each page of the notebook should be numbered. It is practical to write on the right side of the notebook.

• how well you receive instructions,
• cleanliness of bench space, presence of mind,
• tidiness of lab reports,
• tidiness in turning in samples (if required),
• general tidiness and common sense etc.

Class participation:

• this will include tardiness in coming to the lab, tardiness in submitting lab notebook, absent in the lab without an excuse etc.
• You are encouraged to attend all labs - simply because no credit will be given for the lab that is missed or report not turned in - i.e. no makeup labs will be given.
• Each lab is linked with the other in terms of techniques in an organic lab. You might lag behind in techniques if you miss any lab.
• One experiment may require two lab days i.e. a total of 4 hours. Hence if you miss the first part of the experiment consider the whole lab as missed.

Lab notebook:

• Each student should have a lab notebook which should have hardcover on the outside and ruled/lined paper inside.
• Each page of the notebook should be numbered.
• It is practical to write on the right side of the notebook.
• You have the option of purchasing a professional lab book from the instructor.
• Few guidelines
  • number all pages
  • leave a few pages in the front for table of contents
  • write only on the right hand side of the page
  • always write in third person past tense (e.g. The melting point was found to be.... rather than " I took the melting point and .....)
  • if you make a mistake just draw a line through it rather than painting it black.
  • lab notebooks should be brought to each lab and written as the lab proceeds rather than writing the procedure at home.  
• Your lab notebook will be graded on the following points:
  • completion of lab experiment data i.e. the title, materials, procedure, calculations, conclusion etc.
  • mention of all the points during the lab procedure (including any changes you might have made)
  • after the third experiment points will be taken off for grammar.
  • make sure the spelling of technical words and compounds are correct

Product: In cases where you will submit the product the grading will be done on the basis of the following points:

1. dryness of the product
2. color of the product
3. cleanliness of the product
4. how clean the sample container is
5. data on the product (melting/boiling point, percent yield etc.)

Have a safe and good lab experience

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