Structural organic is a one semester graduate course designed to provide you with an advanced knowledge of various organic structural theories and practices, including resonance, molecular orbital theory and aromaticity; stereochemistry, and both mass and NMR spectroscopy.  In addition this course will provide with a solid grounding in pericyclic reactions.  It is assumed that you have taken a two semester, sophomore level, organic chemistry class and that you have solid background in the aforementioned subjects that are covered in a typical course of this type.  If you find that you are weak in a particular area review your undergraduate text and/or see the instructor.
 

Textbooks:   Buxton, S. R., Roberts, R. R., Guide to Organic Stereochemistry from Methane to Macromolecules,
                    Addison Wesley Longman,
                    Essex, England, 1996

                    Silverstein, Robert M.; Webster, Francis X., Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds 6th edition,
                    John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, NY, 1998

Course Content/Order of Coverage:
                    Resonance, Molecular Orbital Theory, and Aromaticity
                    Stereochemistry
                    NMR and Mass Spectroscopy
                    Pericyclic Reactions

Examinations
and Grades:   Two 100 point examinations will be given.  The first exam will be given tentatively on October 29 and the
                     second on December 10.  The second exam will be comprehensive but with emphasis on the material covered
                     since the first exam.  Several 10-20 point assignments may be given.  On each exam you will receive a number
                    and a letter grade.  Depending on the statistics from the number grades the letter grades may be curved.  At the
                    end of the semester the points that you have earned during the semester will be totaled and a letter grade will be
                    determined likely using a curve.