Course Syllabus

Chem 2315 introduces students to fundamental organic chemistry laboratory techniques and equipment. It gives students hands-on experience with the scientific methods, teaches critical thinking and writing skills, and prepares students for advanced work in chemistry and related science and engineering fields. Emphasis will be on experimental techniques, an understanding of the theory behind the lab experiments, and the writing of scientific reports with correct spelling, grammar, and logic.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Perform common laboratory techniques including reflux, distillation, recrystallization, vacuum filtration, and thin-layer chromatography. Create and carry out work up and separation procedures.
• Engage in safe laboratory practices by handling laboratory glassware, equipment, and chemical reagents appropriately.
• Dispose of chemicals in a safe and responsible manner.
• Characterize products by physical and spectroscopic means including mp, ir, nmr, gc, and ms.
• Maintain a detailed scientific notebook.
• Calculate limiting reagent, theoretical yield, and percent yield.
• Use the scientific method to create, test, and evaluate a hypothesis.
• Consult the scientific literature for physical data and experimental procedures.
• Critically evaluate data collected to determine the identity, purity, and percent yield of products and to summarize findings in writing in a clear and concise manner.
• Predict the outcome of several common organic reactions using a basic understanding of the general reactivity of functional groups and mechanisms.
• Work effectively as a member of a team. Communicate productively with lab mates, teaching assistants, and instructors.

Materials required for this course are:

• The Organic Chemistry Lab Survival Manual, by James W. Zubrick, John Wiley & Sons, any edition.
• All experimental procedures will be provided on Canvas, there is no separate book.
• Lab Notebook - any bound notebook
• Safety glasses
• 100% cotton lab coat
• Webcam & microphone

Ensure you have these ahead of time as they will be required to complete assignments and activities throughout the course.

Please review the communication methods and requirements for this course:

Preferred Contact Methods

The easiest way to contact your instructor directly is to use the   Inbox, located in the far left Canvas menu.

You can also contact your instructor in the following ways:

• E-mail: i.zharov@utah.edu

Feel free to contact me by email with personal questions that require individual attention. I will do my best to reply within 24 hours. For any questions related to class logistics, course material, and assignments please post your questions on the Canvas discussion board. This way the information is shared quickly with the entire class and each of you can benefit from seeing other classmates’ questions.

You can contact your TAs via Canvas, you can find their information on the contact list.

Office Hours

The instructor will hold office hours according to the following schedule:

Day(s): Friday

Time(s): 10:00 - 11:00 am

Sign up for an individual or group Zoom appointment with the instructor via e-mail.

Teaching assistants for CHEM 2315 hold office hours via Zoom and in-person. A list of times and locations is posted on Canvas in the TA contact list.

Virtual Meeting Rooms

Lecture/Instructor's Office Hour: https://utah.zoom.us/j/92271113129

TA Office Hours:

Your grade in this course will be calculated based on the scores you receive for

• Quizzes
• Pre-Labs
• Data and Observations
• Post-Labs
• Formal Report

Your scores will be available approximately one week after an assignment has been turned in on your section’s Canvas site. If scores are not posted within two weeks please notify the professor immediately. Please check your grades early and often to ensure that everything has been entered accurately. IMPORTANT: Please inform the professor about concerns regarding the grading of lab assignments early in the semester so that the problem can be addressed. 

Quizzes

Quizzes will be given to check your understanding of the previous experiment and preparation for the current experiment. The quizzes will cover techniques, chemical concepts, mechanisms, safety, common calculations such as percent and theoretical yield, and your ability to draw conclusions from the data.

Pre-Lab, Data and Observations, Post-Lab

For most experiments, you will be evaluated on three items from your lab notebook. During the first 5 minutes of the lab, the TA will circulate, making sure you prepared your Pre-Lab for the current experiment (worth 5 points). At the end of the lab period, your TA will examine your Data and Observations recorded during lab (worth 5 points). The Pre-Lab, Data, and Observations, and Post-Lab conclusions will be combined in one document (Lab Report) and uploaded on Canvas (worth up to 20 points). Up to 5 points will be given for the Prelab and Data and Observations each. Post-Lab conclusions are worth up to 10 points. Once during the semester in place of the Lab Report, you will submit a typed Formal Report (25 points).

Notebooks

The lab notebook is a permanent record of a chemist’s laboratory activities. Therefore,  accurate record-keeping is essential. Please, carefully follow the Notebook Instructions found here.

Lab Performance

You will be graded each week on the basis of your physical performance in the lab. You will earn full credit if you arrive in the lab on time, keep your work station clean and containers labeled, come to the lab prepared and as a result work efficiently, handle the waste and equipment properly, wear your lab goggles/glasses and appropriate lab attire at all times, write observations directly into your notebook as the lab proceeds, work safely, and demonstrate high-quality lab techniques. IMPORTANT: half of your performance points will be deducted if you dispose of glass, solid, or liquid waste improperly. NO CHEMICALS SHOULD BE POURED DOWN THE DRAIN-INCLUDING ACETONE. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) defines acetone as a volatile organic compound that exhibits the flammability characteristic of flash point < 140 °F and must, therefore, be treated as hazardous waste. Rinse your glassware with acetone into a beaker-then dispose of it in the appropriate waste container.

Point Breakdown

The quizzes will be given on Canvas and must be completed before the start of the lab for each section to receive credit. Quizzes will be multiple choice and should be completed individually. 

Lab Reports should be submitted one week after the lab, you will have two weeks after the lab for the Formal Report.

All assignments, unless otherwise announced, must be submitted to the designated area of
Canvas. Do not submit assignments via email.

 Late Lab Reports will be penalized 3 pts/day. Late Formal Report will be penalized 5 pts/day.

Grading for this course

You are expected to complete all ten experiments. Students who miss (and do not make up) three or more labs or do not turn in all corresponding reports will fail the class. Students who miss labs and/or cannot make them up due to the COVID or other medical/personal situations or emergencies should contact the professor who will provide appropriate accommodations.

The final grades will be assigned as follows: (1) all %’s will be rounded (i.e. 59.4%=59%, 89.5%=90%), (2) the grading scale is approximately

These cutoffs are approximate and I reserve the right to vary the cut-offs depending on the lab section and on the overall class performance. TAs vary in their grading, so you will be graded only in comparison to other students in your TA’s sections, not in other TAs’ sections. An effort will be made to normalize the final letter grades. Grades calculated by Canvas do not reflect the normalization, please, disregard those. Tentative letter grades normalized by the professor will be posted on Canvas with ample time to discuss and make corrections if needed.

Make-up labs

Make-up labs are permitted in special circumstances. The make-up lab should be done that same week or at the very latest the following week. No make-up labs can be done later than one week after the normally scheduled time unless special arrangements are made. Please email your TA if you missed the lab. If you cannot attend your regular laboratory section for a legitimate reason, please follow the instruction below:

• First, choose a day and time that you are able to make up the lab. See Canvas for section times/locations.
• Report to the lab room at the beginning of lab. Introduce yourself to the TA and join a lab group. The TA should sign your pre-lab and sign your notebook pages before you leave the lab.
• Upload your prelab to Canvas the day of the make-up lab and you Data and Postlab no later than one week after making up the experiment. Let your TA know about this change in dates so that late penalties are not applied to your scores.
• You are limited to two make-up labs per semester unless you have extraordinary circumstances.

Disclaimer

Accommodations will be considered on an individual basis and may require documentation.

Please contact your instructor and/or teaching assistant as soon as possible (preferably shortly before the semester begins) to request accommodations of any kind.

Extreme personal circumstances

Please contact your instructor as soon as possible if an extreme personal circumstance
(hospitalization, death of a close relative, natural disaster, etc.) is interfering with your ability to complete your work.

Religious Practice

To request an accommodation for religious practices, contact your instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Active Duty Military

If you are student on active duty with the military and experience issues that prevent you from participating in the course because of deployment or service responsibilities, contact your instructor as soon as possible to discuss appropriate accommodations.

Disability Access

All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services (CDS). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. Prior notice is appreciated. To read the full accommodations policy for the University of Utah, please see Section Q of the Instruction & Evaluation regulations.

If you will need accommodations in this class, contact:

Center for Disability Services
801-581-5020
disability.utah.edu
162 Union Building
    200 S. Central Campus Dr.
     Salt Lake City, UT 84112

This syllabus is not a contract. It is meant to serve as an outline and guide for your course. Please note that your instructor may modify it to accommodate the needs of your class.

You will be notified of any changes to the Syllabus.

Students must self-report if they test positive for Covid-19 via coronavirus.utah.edu. Please do not come to class if you are experiencing covid-19 symptoms (fever, chills, new or worsening chronic cough, runny nose, sore throat, the new loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, muscle/body aches, or difficulty breathing/shortness of breath).  If you need help determining if you should be tested please call 801-587-0712. Contact your TA and Prof. Zharov if you are experiencing symptoms so that we can work with you to create a plan to stay on track in the laboratory.  Remember to maintain social distancing at all times. Face coverings are required for students and faculty. Based on CDC guidelines, the university requires everyone to wear face coverings in shared public spaces on campus, including our labs. You will be asked to exchange your personal mask with a disposal mask provided by the department to complete the lab. Instructions are provided below for safely exchanging these masks. If you repeatedly fail to wear a face covering in class, you will be refered you to the Dean of Students for a possible violation of the student code. Note that some students may qualify for accommodations through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you think you meet these criteria and desire an exception to the face covering policy, contact the the Center for Disability and Access (CDA). Accommodations should be obtained prior to the first day of class so that I am notified by CDA of any students who are not required to wear a face covering.

General policies

-Do not use the water fountains while in the building. Food should not be prepared or consumed in the building.

-Only use the bathrooms on the second level of HEB in the south east corridor near 2154.   Ideally, please use the restroom before or after entering/leaving the building.

-Only one person should ride the elevator at a time. It is better to take the stairs.

-Anyone with a fever or signs of respiratory infection (>38.0 ⁰C / 100.4 ⁰F fever, chills, new or worsening chronic cough, runny nose, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, muscle/body aches, or difficulty breathing/shortness of breath) should not visit the U. If you have tested positive for COVID or had close contact with someone that has tested positive please follow the guidelines here.

Lab entry/exit

TBA if needed

Individual instruments/equipment sanitation

TBA if needed

Check-in will occur during the first laboratory of the semester. You are required to bring a combination (not key) lock to share with your lab partner (one lock for two people), lab coat, and goggles. Your lock combination number will be left with the attendant for emergencies. Failing to bring a lock after the second lab will automatically prevent you from doing any further lab work.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THE LAB SECTION THAT YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING. NO EXCEPTIONS. As part of the check-in, you must be sure to sign the locker assignment sheet in the lab (with the correct number for the lab bench you have selected). If you do not sign the locker assignment sheet, then you are not registered for your lab bench and it may be given to students who register later.

The following steps will be taken to ensure your safety in the labs. (1) Overall lab safety will be explained in detail during the first lecture. (2) Safety documents and videos are posted on Canvas, you are required to review them. (3) A safety quiz will be given during the first lab; it will be based on the safety lecture and Canvas materials. Getting fewer than 75% of correct answers will require a discussion with the TA before you will be allowed to continue working in the lab. (3) Safety instructions will be given by the TA before the check-in. You will be required to download and sign a safety rules document before you are allowed to proceed with the labs. (4) The safety of each lab will be discussed during the lecture for each experiment and by the TA before the start of the lab.

IMPORTANT! For your own safety, the following are required AT ALL TIMES in lab: Goggles or lab glasses, close-toed shoes, short- or long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a lab coat. Please tie back long hair. If you come to the lab wearing inappropriate clothing, you will be sent home. You should change clothes and return as quickly as possible. If a large amount of the lab is missed you will be required to attend a make-up session. We recommend that you keep extra shoes and long pants in your locker.

Gloves are recommended for all experiments and required when handling chemicals. Free gloves will be available from the stockroom.

A student who is pregnant may wish to consult their physician about the safety of taking a laboratory class that requires the routine handling of organic compounds and organic solvents. A student who is pregnant may wish to delay taking organic laboratory courses until the pregnancy is completed.

It is forbidden to remove ANY chemicals, solvent, chemical waste, or equipment from the organic chemistry teaching laboratories or stockroom. Do not take any chemicals or waste home with you when you leave. This is considered to be theft of property that belongs to the University of Utah. It is especially important that you dispose of solid and liquid chemical waste in the containers in the laboratories. Once a chemical has been placed into a container labeled “WASTE”, that material must be stored, transported, and disposed of by the University in accordance with complex Federal regulations that are specified in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR) and in related federal and state regulations and law.

All students are REQUIRED to wash their hands as a safety precaution before leaving the laboratory in case they have accidentally encountered any dangerous chemicals.

You are accountable for the equipment in your organic chemistry locker. On the first day of the lab, your teaching assistant will assign a locker to you. Make sure to put a combination lock on the locker as you may be penalized for the replacement of missing items later during the semester.

Located inside your equipment locker is a breakage card listing the entire contents of the drawer. At check-in, verify all items against the list. If anything is missing, the stockroom attendant will replace the item. During the semester, when you lose or break an item, the stockroom attendant will punch the card next to the item name to indicate that they have replaced the item.  At the end of the semester, you may be assessed a grade point penalty based upon any breakage or loss in excess of that amount covered by your special course fee. Be careful with your equipment and do not lose the breakage card.

Your laboratory fee is used primarily to cover the cost of chemicals and materials you use during the semester. It also includes a small component for small items in your drawer that are occasionally broken or lost. It does not cover breakage of special, major equipment that is not part of your equipment locker. When carrying out experiments, work carefully and cautiously.  Please be extremely careful with all the laboratory equipment.

Check-out will occur at the end of the last lab. You are required to clean all your glassware and review the glassware with your TA. The entire section will also be responsible for cleaning the common areas of the lab. Failure to check out will result in your grade being lowered by a single chromatic variant (e.g. an A- to a B+).

Though the online format allows students greater flexibility to complete their work, this course does have a structure and timeline! As such, the following is expected of all students in this class:

• Students must be self-motivated, organized, and willing to stay on top of their schedule. Students should take control of their learning while in this course.
• Students are expected to follow the Core Rules of Netiquette at all times while participating in the class and communicating with others.
• Students will log in to the course a minimum of 3 times per week.
• Students are not expected to interact with their classmates in person. Students may be expected to work with classmates via online communication options like Canvas Discussions, video conferencing, or another communication technologies of choice (Groupme, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, etc).
• Students will regularly check for course updates and will update their Canvas notification settings to ensure they receive timely notifications from the course.
• Students will contact their instructor or teaching assistant in a timely manner if they have any questions, are struggling with course materials, or need further assistance from their instructor.
  • If you do not hear back within 3 days after sending a message, please contact your instructor/TA again.
• Students will follow all official University of Utah policies regarding interpersonal conduct, academic dishonesty, and other rights and responsibilities of students outlined in the University of Utah Student Handbook and Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
  • If you have any questions about this, please contact the Dean of Students.

Your course instructor is an expert in the topics you will learn about this semester. Your instructor is your mentor and facilitator of the classroom experience, aided by teaching assistants. Instructors are committed to:

• The instructor will design the course to include lectures, learning materials, and assignments that are accessible and provide students with opportunities to learn and practice course content.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will ensure that the course remains a safe space where students can engage with difficult content thoughtfully and respectfully.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will interact with the class regularly via announcements, virtual office hours (one-on-one video conferencing), emails/the Canvas Inbox, feedback on assignments, and comments on Discussions, among other methods.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will respond to students in a timely manner: within 48 hours, not including weekends and holidays.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will be available for individual consultation via virtual office hours (one-on-one video conferencing), email, or phone and will not require students to meet in person.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will provide relevant feedback in a timely manner.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will follow all official University of Utah policies regarding interpersonal conduct, accommodations, and other important duties.

Though the online format allows students greater flexibility to complete their work, this course does have a structure and timeline! As such, the following is expected of all students in this class:

• Students must be self-motivated, organized, and willing to stay on top of their schedule. Students should take control of their learning while in this course.
• Students are expected to follow the Core Rules of Netiquette at all times while participating in the class and communicating with others.
• Students will log in to the course a minimum of 3 times per week.
• Students are not expected to interact with their classmates in person. Students may be expected to work with classmates via online communication options like Canvas Discussions, video conferencing, or another communication technologies of choice (Groupme, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, etc).
• Students will regularly check for course updates and will update their Canvas notification settings to ensure they receive timely notifications from the course.
• Students will contact their instructor or teaching assistant in a timely manner if they have any questions, are struggling with course materials, or need further assistance from their instructor.
  • If you do not hear back within 3 days after sending a message, please contact your instructor/TA again.
• Students will follow all official University of Utah policies regarding interpersonal conduct, academic dishonesty, and other rights and responsibilities of students outlined in the University of Utah Student Handbook and Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
  • If you have any questions about this, please contact the Dean of Students.

Your course instructor is an expert in the topics you will learn about this semester. Your instructor is your mentor and facilitator of the classroom experience, aided by teaching assistants. Instructors are committed to:

• The instructor will design the course to include lectures, learning materials, and assignments that are accessible and provide students with opportunities to learn and practice course content.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will ensure that the course remains a safe space where students can engage with difficult content thoughtfully and respectfully.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will interact with the class regularly via announcements, virtual office hours (one-on-one video conferencing), emails/the Canvas Inbox, feedback on assignments, and comments on Discussions, among other methods.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will respond to students in a timely manner: within 48 hours, not including weekends and holidays.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will be available for individual consultation via virtual office hours (one-on-one video conferencing), email, or phone and will not require students to meet in person.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will provide relevant feedback in a timely manner.
• The instructor and teaching assistants will follow all official University of Utah policies regarding interpersonal conduct, accommodations, and other important duties.