Chem 201 Archive – Alan Shusterman

Tag: 2010

  • How to finish the acetylferrocene lab

    We do not have any lab work scheduled for this week or beyond. The only
    thing that needs to be accomplished by most students is printing the NMR
    spectrum of acetylferrocene. This can be done during the lab periods
    this week, but you can also do it on your own.

    Instructions for printing the NMR spectrum have been added to the Week
    #3     section of the acetylferrocene procedure (see lab manual). Please
    note that two pages are required.

    The lab assistants will be available in the lab from 1-1:30 each day
    this week. If no one comes to lab by 1:30, they will go into the
    computer room to help out there. If no 201 students seek their help in
    the computer room by 2:00, the lab assistants will be free to leave.
    After that, all NMR printing will have to be unassisted.

    Instructions for writing the acetylferrocene lab report have also been
    updated. I will give one final lecture on NMR spectroscopy that also
    pertains to the lab report. This will be the Thursday evening *after*
    Thanksgiving, Dec 2. The lab reports are due Wednesday, Dec 8.

  • Anticrastination anyone?

    Procrastination is a problem. I have trouble dealing with it. Everyone that I know suffers from it. (Actually, “suffers” is the wrong word; “complains” would be more accurate. Procrastination can be a good thing, but if you find yourself complaining about not getting around to things, you have a problem.)

    How do I procrastinate? Two ways. First, I don’t do things that I need to do. Second, I siphon my time into other things that don’t help at all. So what can I do? Fight back. Become an Anticrastinator.

    Today’s At Reed describes two computer programs, Freedom and Anti-Social (no joke!) that can help you anticrastinate more effectively. These programs won’t make you do the stuff you ought to do, but they can keep you away highly distracting time siphons.

    You might also be interested in signing up for one of the anticrastination workshops offered by Student Services. The complete schedule of academic workshops is posted here; RSVP encouraged, but drop-ins are welcome.

  • New Homework Signals New Direction

    I have just posted a new homework assignment: HW #6. You can download it from the homework page.

    This assignment signals a switch from an emphasis on modeling to an emphasis on chemical transformations. It is essential at this point that you adjust your study techniques so that you learn about transformations from several angles:

    • knowing what to expect from certain reactions (fill in the product)
    • knowing how to bring certain transformations about (fill in the reagent)
    • knowing how to produce desired materials (fill in the starting material + plan a synthesis)
    • knowing how to rationalize why things are the way they are (draw a plausible mechanism).

    I hope that the new direction in homework assignments will encourage you in this.

    A Study Guide and Solutions Manual essay that is particularly worthwhile: 5.2 How to Study Organic Reactions (p. 70). I hope you will incorporate the suggestions that this essay makes into your study habits. Some other valuable essays:

    • 5.3 Solving Structure Problems (p. 74)
    • 11.1 Learning New Reactions from Earlier Reactions (p. 211)
    • 11.2 Common Intermediates from Different Starting Materials (p. 211).

  • Watch the TLC video

    Last Thursday night I started showing a video demonstrating the technique of thin-layer chromatography. I also pointed out where to find this link. Let me point you at it again:

    Lab techniques (MIT videos): TLC (thin-layer chromatography) (16 min)
    (located in Off Campus section of our Links page)

    You might also like the video and animation provided by the Interactive Lab Primer. I haven’t watched it so you tell me which one, MIT or Interactive Lab, should go into the lab manual.

    Please watch one video or the other before lab this week. Students who finish their columns by 4 PM will be expected to do some TLC analyses before leaving the lab. Stragglers will need to watch the videos again before next week’s lab.

  • Learn about the last EDG on your own

    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 over slides 15-18 on your own. The next exam covers all of the material through this class. The exam will not cover material from Friday’s upcoming class.

    Here is a verbal description of what you should get from slides 15-18: (more…)

  • C12 H25 Cl O2

    Problem 2B on yesterday’s conference assignment contained the wrong formula for the intermolecular substitution product. It should be C12 H25 Cl O2.

    Other comments: problem #3 was basically covered in lecture so please flip the page and try your hand on the NMR problem (#4).

  • Contemplating the rest of the semester

    Exam #2 has been graded. Scores are based on a 100-point scale just like the first exam and are written in a box on the last page of the exam.

    You can pick up your exam from Kathy Kennedy on Wednesday of Fall Break, or from Alan on Thursday and Friday of Fall Break.
    (more…)

  • Lab lecture for pKa measurement

    I received a request for copies of last night’s lab lecture. There are two files you can download:

  • Electron density, potential maps, and more