CHE460: Organic Chemistry

In this advanced course, students will explore the study of carbon-containing compounds. There are more than 16 million such compounds that occur both naturally and synthetically, and many more are discovered and synthesized each year. Organic chemistry is important in many fields such as medicine, pharmaceutical science and materials science, as well as in the production of fragrances, food products, automobiles and many other items. There are two main focal points of this course. First, after learning the names, structures, nomenclature and reactivity of the functional groups found in most organic molecules, students will be engaged in extensive laboratory investigations exploring these functional groups as they synthesize common organic materials. Such investigations include the synthesis of oil of wintergreen, aspirin, rubber, Plexiglass, polyurethane foam, nylon, soap and fragrant esters. The second area of focus is learning laboratory techniques particular to organic chemistry such as distillation, refluxing, and extraction.