Category Archives: Post-lecture

(More) Practice problems for learning activity 7

Posted on September 24, 2012 by alan

The learning objectives for activity #7 include being able to interconvert free energy changes (ΔG or ΔPE), equilibrium constants (Keq) and the percentages of the two conformers at equilibrium. Unfortunately, I neglected to list practice problems for this topic… Continue reading →

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Bond Order Goes under the Microscope

Posted on September 20, 2012 by alan

The 2012 Sept 17 issue of Chemistry & Engineering News ("C&ENews" is what we call it) begins with an article, Bond Order via Microscopy. A team of scientists at IBM's Zurich research center used a scanning probe microscope to… Continue reading →

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Lecture slides (Day 5) for hybrid & molecular orbitals

Posted on September 17, 2012 by alan

You can download the slides that I showed last Wed/Thur (Sept 12/13) here. I didn't get to show all of the slides, but if I could have, I would have divided the talk into three sections: what you already… Continue reading →

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Learning objectives (Day 5) for hybrid & molecular orbitals

Posted on September 16, 2012 by alan

I have prepared a list of learning objectives and study tips for last Wed/Thur's (Sept 12/13) class. You can download them here…. Continue reading →

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Learning Activity #2 – Corrections

Posted on August 30, 2012 by alan

Some corrections and clarifications for Learning Activity #2 follow. Let me know if you have other suggestions. #DU. A ring and a double-bond both count as 1 DU. Consider some three-carbon compounds. CH3CH2CH3 is propane, the saturated molecule. CH2=CHCH3… Continue reading →

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William Perkin? Meet Silas Cook!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by alan

Organic chemistry has a long history. This week we took a look at William Perkin, whose "unsuccessful" preparation of quinine spawned an entire industry, and Silas Cook, Reed '99, who recently supervised the first short "total" synthesis of artemisinin…. Continue reading →

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When is a 'glycol' not a glycol?

Posted on November 29, 2010 by alan

In class today, I gave you a special name for 1,2-diols: glycols. Since a 1,2-diol requires a minimum of two carbon atoms, the simplest compound in this class is ethylene glycol, HOCH2CH2OH.It turns out that one glycol has been in… Continue reading →

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Learn about the last EDG on your own

Posted on November 3, 2010 by alan

I have posted all of the slides from today's lecture (see Syllabus or here). I did not finish my description of electron-donating groups (EDG), but I had saved the easiest material for last so I would like you to look… Continue reading →

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Potentials and Potential Maps

Posted on September 13, 2010 by alan

Today's class on electron-deficient atoms and Lewis acids was very informative for me. I want to thank all of the students who were willing to share their questions with me. Your questions are how I learn.Here are a few post-lecture… Continue reading →

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Electron density, potential maps, and more

Posted on September 4, 2010 by alan
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