Organic Chemistry I Laboratory for Chemistry and Biochemistry Majors
Fall 2024
Text: Experimental Organic Chemistry A Small-Scale Approach, 2nd Edition, Wilcox & Wilcox, ISBN 0-02-427691-X
Please note that the scale of each experiment may be changed.
Instructor: James Salvador, jsal at utep dot edu, ext. 5704, contact me via email to setup a Microsoft Teams meeting.
Tuesday Teaching Assistants: Jeffrey Richards, PSCI 308A, ext. 5849, jsrichards at miners dot utep dot edu
Thursday Teaching Assistants: Jose Rosales, PSCI 308A, ext. 5849, jarosales3 at miners dot utep dot edu
| Week | Dates | First Activity | Second Activity |
| 1 | August 27 & 29 | No labs! | |
| 2 | September 3 & 5 | Laboratory Safety-Moodle | Optical Polarizers/DIY Molecular Models from Waste Plastic |
| 3 | 10 & 12 | Melting Points (8.4 A) | IR |
| 4 | 17 & 19 | Crystallization (8.4 B) | NMR |
| 5 | 24 & 26 | Simple vs. Fractional Distillation (5.4 B) | PVAC |
| 6 | October 1 & 3 | Extraction (9.7 D) and Sublimation (8.3) | PVA |
| 7 | 8 & 10 | Chromatography (10.7 C) | GC |
| 8 | 15 & 17 | SN1 Reaction (18.3 C) | Linear |
| 9 | 22 & 24 | Chemical Kinetics (20.4) | Polarimetry |
| 10 | 29 & 31 | Synthesis of Aspirin (49.2 A) | Circular |
| 11 | November 5 & 7 | E1 Reaction (21.5 A) and Steam Distillation (7) | UV-Vis |
| 12 | 12 & 14 | Isopentyl Acetate (Modified 30.2.a) | Microwave |
| 13 | 19 & 21 | IR (Read Chapter 13) & NMR (Read Chapter 15) | NMRI |
| 14 | 26 & 28 | Holiday-No Labs | Superconductors? |
| 15 | December 3 & 5 | Superconductors? | 3D |
Required materials (You will be turned away and earn a zero in attendance for missing safety attire!):
- The book
- Goggles (not safety glasses) A seal should form around your eyes.
- Pants (not shorts) Your legs must be covered.
- Shoes (not sandals) Your feet must be completely covered.
- A lab coat.
What you should be learning:
- Know the dangers of each laboratory including how to mitigate your risk.
- Read and understand all the chapter and not just the experimental procedure.
- Make sure that you can draw all structures and mechanisms for each lab.
- Be able to apply a given mechanism to other reagents because we are not just cooks!
- Understand which fundamental mechanism you are applying (Addition, Elimination or Substitution) including the stereochemical consequences.
- Understand whether a reaction is an oxidation, reduction or not a net redox reaction.
- Be able to calculate the yield of a
reaction.
- structure to formula conversion,
- formula to molecular weight conversion,
- ml to grams via density and vice-versa,
- grams to moles,
- what is the limiting reagents,
- what is the stoichiometry of the reaction.
- Understand why a particular procedure was followed.
- Remember that this semester, this lab is your job.
Your grade will consist of:
- 1/3 attendance. You must participate fully in the lab, and not come and go as you please!
- 1/3 laboratory Quizzes. Quizzes will be open only on the Monday of the given lab week.
- 1/3 laboratory Reports. Reports will open on the Friday morning after the lab and close at 11:59 pm of the next Monday.
A > 89.5 %, B > 79.5 %, C > 69.5 %, D > 59.5 %