Instructors-
Thomas
A. Newton
Office- 352 Science
Office hours- M 11:30-12:30, 6:30-7:00; W 6:30-7:00 Room 352 Science;
also by appointment.
Telephone- 780-4316
newton@usm.maine.edu
Gale
Rhodes
Office- 366 Science
Office Hours- M,T 3:00-4:00; W,F 11:30-12:15
Telephone- 780-4736
rhodes@usm.maine.edu
Henry Tracy
Office 167 Science
Office hours- MW 10:00-11:00, T 12:00-1:00
tracy@usm.maine.edu
Format- During the coming year you will participate in a research project involving the synthesis and characterization of a group of compounds called metalloles. Working in small groups, you will attempt to prepare a specific metallole and to investigate its physical and chemical properties. We have structured the course to encourage independent thought, curiosity, and creativity. Nothing is preordained; there are no right answers, there are no wrong answers. What you do in lab one week will be determined by the results of your investigations the previous week(s). While you will be given general guidelines to follow, it will be your responsibility to develop a plan for each week's work. The pre-lab recitations will be used to discuss questions related to those plans.
Required materials-
Objectives- This course is designed to illustrate the experimental methods that organic chemists use routinely. Those methods include 1. the determination of physical properties of molecules- melting points, boiling points, refractive indexes, densities 2. purification techniques- recrystallization, distillation, extraction, chromatography 3. spectroscopic analysis- infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance.
In addition to techniques, the course offers you experience in the synthesis of organic and organometallic molecules as well as the manipulation of organic chemicals on the micro-and semi-micro scale. Synthetic procedures include oxidation, reduction, nucleophilic substitution, nucleophilic addition, and elimination reactions.
We also intend for you to develop the ability to maintain an accurate record of the work you do in the laboratory, i.e. to keep a good notebook.
Finally, we expect you to become aware of the hazards of working
in a chemical environment. This will include recognition of hazardous
situations and materials, methods to avoid accidents, safe disposal
of waste chemicals, minimization of your exposure to hazardous
chemicals, and how to respond in the case of accidents.
Attendance- While your
attendance is optional, your grade in this course will be determined
largely on the basis of your attendance. If you are unable to attend
your regularly scheduled lab section, it may not be possible to make
up the work you missed. In no case will anyone be allowed to make up
any work if they have not notified their instructor in advance
that they will be unable to attend lab.
Safety- An organic chemistry
laboratory is a hazardous place to work. There are ever present
dangers of fires, explosions, cuts, and poisonings. There are also
more subtle, but no less dangerous hazards, such as carcinogens and
teratogens. In this laboratory we attempt to minimize these hazards.
When an experiment has traditionally called for the use of a highly
toxic reagent, we have tried to find a less toxic substitute. We have
also reduced the scale on which we work: this lab is done on the
micro-scale. This means that most of the experiments involve masses
of less than 500 mg and volumes of less than 5 mL. Even on the
micro-scale, however, there are still dangers. Hence there are two
policies that are always in force in the lab: 1.
You must wear OSHA-approved eye protection
in the lab. There are no exceptions! If you do not have appropriate
eye protection, you will not be allowed to work in the
lab.
2.
All experimental set-ups should be
placed under the benchtop hoods. In addition, we recommend
that you wear old clothes in the lab and that you use the disposable
plastic gloves that we provide. The laboratory is equipped with a
safety shower, a fire blanket, fire extinguishers, and an eye shower.
You should know where all of these safety devices are located and be
familiar with their use.
Notebooks- You must have a bound
laboratory notebook. It is not acceptable to keep notes, any notes,
on scrap paper. Your notebook is your scrap paper. It is not
supposed to be a work of art. It is intended to contain all the
information that is necessary for you, or another person, to
reproduce the experiment that you performed. That is the primary
criterion for a good notebook: if it contains enough detail that
someone unfamiliar with the experiment could perform it by following
your notes, it is a good notebook. Otherwise, it is not. This means
that your writing must be legible. You should develop the habit of
recording your notes at regular intervals throughout the afternoon.
It is not acceptable to work from 1:30 until 4:15 and then try to
summarize your day's work- too much detail is lost. The section
entitled "Advance Preparation and Laboratory Records" on pages 23-30
of your manual provides guidelines for you to follow. In terms of
style, write your notes in the first
person, past tense, active voice. Do not use the
third person, past tense, passive
voice shown on page 30 of your manual. You should strive
to write concisely.
While you should not follow the grammatical format shown on page 30 of the manual, you should include a title, an equation describing the reaction to be performed, and information about the reactants, solvents and products as shown on page 29 of your book. In addition, you should include a topic sentence at the beginning of each experiment. A topic sentence provides the reader with an overview of what is to come. A topic sentence puts things in perspective. A reasonable topic sentence for the example discussed above might be "I tried to prepare a sample of isopentyl acetate by reacting isopentyl alcohol with acetic acid."
Remember, the purpose of your notebook is to help you develop the ability to keep accurate scientific records of the work you do in the laboratory. This skill is important in biology, physics, and other experimental disciplines as well as in chemistry. Some students write their procedure in their notebook before coming to the lab. That is not acceptable. It is okay to prepare an outline of the procedure you intend to follow before you come to lab. In fact, we recommend that you do so. Such an outline might contain, for example, a list of equipment you will need, the sequence in which you plan to perform the various steps of the experiment, and calculations of the masses, volumes and molar quantities of the chemicals you will use. In order to complete many of the experiments in the allotted time, you will have to perform some operations simultaneously. An outline, prepared in advance, will help you choreograph such work.
Finally, you should record your notes in ink. If you make an error, cross it out with a single stroke. Do not erase or obliterate your mistakes.
Grading- Your grade in this course will be determined largely on the basis of your attendance. In order to earn a minimum letter grade of C-, you must attend at least 10 laboratory sessions. In order to earn to earn a minimum letter grade of B-, you must attend at least 11 laboratory sessions. In order to earn to earn a minimum letter grade of A-, you must attend at least 12 laboratory sessions. In addition to your attendance, we will evaluate your notebook, your pre-laboratory preparation, your performance in the laboratory, as well as your results.