CHEM 2320 is the second semester of a full-year course in organic chemistry, which is the study of the structures and properties of compounds primarily composed of carbon and hydrogen. Reactivity is studied in the context of mechanism patterns associated with functional groups, with emphasis on synthesis and biochemical applications. This course is required for all chemistry-centered majors, most pre-professional programs, many life science majors, and is commonly taken in the second year of study.
Organic chemistry is taught by chemistry departments at USHE institutions. It is a two-semester sequence that is numbered as CHEM 2310 for the first semester and CHEM 2320 for the second semester at USHE institutions. It is required for all chemistry-based majors and many pre-professional programs; some programs require only the first semester. This course will provide a thorough foundation in organic structures, reaction mechanisms, and elementary synthesis methods.
Chemistry 2320 is the second semester of a full-year introductory organic chemistry course. This course provides a fundamental and foundational description of the properties and behavior of carbon-based molecules, which are the primary constituents of all known living systems and many materials upon which modern lifestyles rely. Topics and concepts will be presented such that they build upon one another, with later topics reinforcing and developing concepts introduced with earlier topics. Topics typically covered in the first half of the second semester include: nucleophilic addition-elimination reactions of carboxylic acids and carboxylic acid derivatives; reactions of aldehydes and ketones with nucleophiles; hydride reduction of carbonyl compounds; use of protecting groups in synthesis; nucleophilic addition to alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds; reactions of enolate anions; decarboxylation of beta-keto carboxylic acids; use of carbonyl reactions in synthesis; electrophilic aromatic substitution of benzenes; nucleophilic aromatic substitution of benzenes; synthesis of multi-substituted benzenes; reactions and synthesis of amines; and reactions of five- and six-membered ring aromatic heterocycles. Depending on choice of textbook, the following topics may be taught in either the first semester or the second semester: resonance delocalization & aromaticity; reactions of dienes; radical halogenation of alkanes; radical addition to alkenes; radical substitution at benzylic and allylic positions; use of radical reactions in synthesis; organolithium and organomagnesium compounds; transmetallation; organocuprates; palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions; mass spectroscopy (MS); ultraviolet-visible light (UV-Vis) spectroscopy; infrared (IR) spectroscopy; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.In the second half of the semester, instructors may choose at their discretion four to six of the more advanced topics typically contained in the last several chapters of organic chemistry textbooks, comprising: properties and reactions of carbohydrates; properties and reactions of amino acids, peptides, and proteins; catalysis in laboratory and biological settings; structure and biological activity of vitamins; reactions of metabolic pathways; lipids and terpene biosynthesis; properties and reactions of nucleic acids; synthesis and structural properties of polymers; and pericyclic reactions.
