Text for 1 sem course?

[elbatch]

Hello all.

 

I'm a new prof and going to be teaching organic chem for the first time in the spring. At my university, the organic chemistry is only offered for one semester. I have two questions that I would welcome opions on.

 

1. Do you think students would benefit more from a survey style course where many topics are considered briefly, or to cover the material typically found in the first semester of the traditional two semester series?

2. Does anyone have any texts to reccomend for a one semester course? I've read amazing things about David Klein's "Organic Chemistry as a second language" (text book and study guides), but i wonder if the text would be too in depth for a one sem. course?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help, opinions, ideas you could give.

 

elbatch

[hypervalent_iodine]

Hello all.

 

I'm a new prof and going to be teaching organic chem for the first time in the spring. At my university, the organic chemistry is only offered for one semester. I have two questions that I would welcome opions on.

 

1. Do you think students would benefit more from a survey style course where many topics are considered briefly, or to cover the material typically found in the first semester of the traditional two semester series?

 

The latter. A common problem with students learning organic chemistry is that they don't spend enough time trying to understand the coursework. Though there are some serious pitfalls in the way o chem is taught using the traditional lecture-style system, a survey style course would be considerably worse. You don't get to spend as much time learning and understanding the details, which happen to be quote important when it comes to problem solving. Organic chemistry is not a course you can rote learn. You have to actually know what's going on.

 

2. Does anyone have any texts to reccomend for a one semester course? I've read amazing things about David Klein's "Organic Chemistry as a second language" (text book and study guides), but i wonder if the text would be too in depth for a one sem. course?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help, opinions, ideas you could give.

 

elbatch

 

How much money are you willing to spend, will you be using organic chem in the future and how in depth is your course? Any of the star organic chemistry books will give you a good foundation in the basics. The texts by Clayden and McMurry are both excellent books, but they are pricey (given the price of McMurry's new edition, I would actually get an earlier edition copy, which are just as great and much, much less expensive). Clayden is a must have for someone studying organic chemistry as a major and goes into considerable depth in a lot of areas. McMurry doesn't go too much beyond what you would find in a second year course, but it does have considerable focus on biochemical mechanisms, enzymatic reactions, etc. McMurry also has the benefit of having a student solutions book for all of the chapter problems, which is of great assistance when studying if you can find a copy.

[Dr. Lennox]

I strongly recommend giving the students a rigorous course in O-Chem I, with an emphasis upon getting to electrophilic addition chemistry if at all possible. I prefer Vollhardt's book, probably because he gave me my first copy of it while I was a postdoc at Berkeley.

 

Solomons & Fryhle is also good, and is now being used at UCSD.