Chem 201 Archive – Alan Shusterman

Month: September 2008

  • C7 H10 O3 contest – Week #3 Results

    The final week of the C7 H10 O3 contest brought in two entries. Gabe Holt and Patrick Fink had submitted an entry during week #1, but all of the other participants were brand new, bringing the total number of participating students to 19 (one-third of the class).

    Unfortunately, neither team could come up with an isomer that had been described in the scientific literature so we don’t really have a “winner” in the usual sense this week. However, in the event of a tie, the judges (me) have decided that the runner-ups will split the usual prizes, so everyone will go home with half of a milk chocolate truffle pig. Enjoy. Here are the structures that were submitted this week:

    C7H10O3 week 3.gif

    And since you are probably dying to know what the best-studied isomers look like,

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  • C7 H10 O3 contest – Week #2 Results

    The C7 H10 O3 contest continues with three new entries. The winning team nearly hit the jackpot: 140 references. Congratulations Orissa and Rachel !!

    The other teams submitted molecules that looked pretty interesting to me, but I guess organic chemists haven’t had a chance to study them yet. No hits.

    C7H10O3 week 2.gif

    The contest continues with the same rules for one more week:

    The rules for entering the contest this FINAL week: any 3-5 people in the class may combine on an
    entry and turn it in to me by lab lecture next Th (Sept 25). Just draw
    an isomer of C7 H10 O3 on a piece of paper, add your names, and you’re
    in! There are two constraints: winners from weeks #1 and #2 should not
    re-enter (give others a chance!) and I won’t accept multiple entries
    from the same person.

  • Mnemonic = memory aid

    Several years ago I came across a Chem 201 exam with the following written in the margin: “Albert is sick and in pain, so I brought clean forks”. Afterward I asked the student what that was all about and she re-wrote it for me:

    AlBert is SiCk and in PaiN, SO I Brought Clean Forks

    This little ditty helped her remember which elements were found in the same column of the periodic table. Pretty clever. Do you have a chemistry mnemonic or tip to share? You can submit your tip as a comment.

  • Liquid mercury

    We won’t be using liquid mercury in the o chem lab, but it was widely used in many of the research labs where I worked. I even played with some liquid mercury when I was little. This video shows you the vapors produced by even tiny amounts of liquid mercury. Check it out.

    Mercury Vapor Experiment – Bowling Green State University

  • C7 H10 O3 contest – Week #1 Results

    Week #1? Yes, that’s right. Last week’s contest brought in only three entries and the results were so intriguing (see below) that I thought it would be fun to extend the contest two more weeks. So I will collect entries this coming week and name a new winner, and then I will repeat the entire process the following week. So you have three chances to win in all.

    The rules for entering the contest this week are identical to those from last week. Any 3-5 people in the class may combine on an entry and turn it in to me by lab lecture next Th (Sept 18). Just draw an isomer of C7 H10 O3 on a piece of paper, add your names, and you’re in! There are two constraints: winners from this week should not re-enter (give others a chance!) and I won’t accept multiple entries from the same person.

    OK. So what did this week’s entries look like and who won?

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  • Localized Molecular Orbital pictures (from lecture)

    If you would like to look at the pictures of localized molecular orbitals (impress your parents! amaze your friends!) that I displayed in yesterday’s lecture, download the following PDF files.

    Propene, CH3-CH=CH2

    Formaldehyde, CH2=O

  • Hyperventilating about hypervalent atoms

    This question came up after lecture and its one worth bringing to the o chem public: Should sulfuric acid be drawn with double bonds (the way I originally drew it in lecture) or with single bonds+formal charges (the way I subsequently drew it)?

    There is more here than meets the eye.
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