Course Description: Fundamental principles of organic chemistry will be discussed. Topics to be discussed will include electron delocalization, aromaticity, electrophilic and nucleophilic aromatic substitution, NMR and IR spectroscopy, Mass spectrometry, carbonyl chemistry, and substitution and elimination reactions.

Although this course is designed as an in-person course and there are no online tests or assignments, lectures for this class will be simultaneously transmitted via video conferencing software (Only the presenter's screen will be shared. Video from the classroom will not be shared), so that students who are sick or otherwise unable to attend do not miss out on a lecture. This course is not designed as a hybrid or remote-synchronous course, and the streamed content is provided as a way to minimize disruption in learning when students cannot make it to class for unforeseen circumstances. The stream is not intended as a replacement for the in-person class. Students should check their university email for the URL.

I reserve the right to unilaterally change this syllabus. Any change to this syllabus will be announced in class, and the changes, including the date the change was announced, will be added to this document.

Grading and Assignments: There will be three tests, three written assignments (reworked tests - these assignments are separate from the test), and a final (approximately half of the final will assess the last few weeks of the course and the other half will be cumulative). There are no graded homework assignments. Students are encouraged to download the free Student Solutions Manual and Student Study Guide (links below) and complete the 'appropriate problems' listed for each topic during class. If you find that you are having difficulty with the 'appropriate problems' that is a sign that you should stop by to chat or work with a tutor. The 'appropriate problems' are listed by section in the class notes on the first day a new chapter is started and on the class notes download page. The class notes for each class are labeled with the relevant sections of the text.

More on the cumulative nature of chemistry and what I mean by a cumulative final: In chemistry, what we learn typically builds upon what we've learned in the past. For example, learning how to draw Lewis structures will help us understand where molecules are more, or less, electron rich. In a way, all of our tests are cumulative since they build on previous knowledge. On the other hand, when I refer to the final as being cumulative, that means that I may ask you to draw Lewis structures on the final (typically a test 1 topic), whereas on test 3, I will not be asking you to draw Lewis structures even though knowing how to draw Lewis structures would be useful in the sense that it will help you understand the chemistry being assessed on test 3.

All of the graded assignments are to be done individually.

• The reworked exam assignments are due a week after the graded exam is handed back. Late assignments will not be accepted (extenuating circumstances will be handled on a case-by-case basis).
  More explanation about the reworked tests: After each test is graded the test will be returned and students will rework the test; that is, students will provide more complete answers for questions for which they did not receive full credit. Reworking questions for which you did not receive full credit does not add points back onto your test. The reworked tests are separate assignments and each one will account for five percent of your overall score. Thus, it is important that each of the assignments be completed, both from a learning perspective and from the point of view of your overall score.
• Exams will be held on Friday, February 20; Friday, March 27; and Friday, April 17.
• The final for CHEM 0203-001 (the 9:20 to 10:10 class) is scheduled for Friday, May 8 from 8:00 to 10:00 am.
  The final for CHEM 0203-002 (the 10:25 to 11:15 class) is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 from 12:20 to 2:20.
• Additionally, students are required to attend the laboratory sessions each week and to complete any work assigned in the laboratory (consult the laboratory syllabus for details).

Westfield State University provides reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. All students are welcome to register and request accommodations through the Banacos Academic Center. If you need reasonable accommodations in this class, please make an appointment with an advisor in the Banacos Academic Center. Write to Student Accessibility Services at sas@westfield.ma.edu or, if you were accepted into the Learning Disabilities Program, ldp@westfield.ma.edu to set up an appointment. Additionally, I strongly recommend that you make an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss how we can work best together.
Please note that a student may request accommodations through the Banacos Academic Center at any time in the semester.

Grades will be determined as described below with the following caveats:

The letter grade (with +'s and -'s) will be based on an overall average score. Each student's overall average score will be a weighted average of a student's test average, reworked test assignment average, homework average, and laboratory average as described below:

Averages greater than or equal to 90 will earn an "A".
Overall averages greater than or equal to 80 will earn a "B".
Overall averages greater than or equal to 70 will earn a "C".
Overall averages greater than or equal to 60 will earn a "D".
Overall averages < 60 will not earn a passing grade.

The test scores may be scaled if appropriate; that is, if the mean of the class average and class median for a given test is less than 76.7%, scaling points will be added to the test scores so that the aforementioned mean becomes 76.7%. If the aforementioned mean is greater than 76.7%, no scaling points will be applied. The number of scaling percentage points will be announced in class when the tests are returned.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend class and arrive on time. There are no make up exams. Absence from an exam will result in a 0 for that exam. Missing two or more exams will result in a failing grade. Extenuating circumstances will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Scheduling conflicts should be discussed before an exam, and if an exam is missed due to unforeseeable extenuating circumstances I should be contacted as soon as possible.

Withdrawal Deadlines: The dean has asked us to include these dates in our syllabi.

• Withdraw without record during Add/Drop: January 26.
• Withdraw from a full semester class: April 14. Withdrawal Procedure Withdrawal Form

Text: Organic Chemistry, a 10th Edition by John McMurry. openstax. https://openstax.org/details/books/organic-chemistry

Additional Resources:
Old exams and notes are available at http://www.westfield.ma.edu/cmasi/
A solutions manual and a study guide are available at https://openstax.org/details/books/organic-chemistry?Student%20resources

Laboratory Manual: Handouts.

Office hours: Monday 11:20-12:50 and Friday 11:20-12:50. I am available some Monday and Friday afternoons outside of posted office hours and often on Tuesdays and Thursdays for unscheduled pop ins. On the other hand, please don't show up just before class unless it is absolutely necessary. If you need to see me before class please make an appointment, and in general, making an appointment to make certain I'm available outside of my posted office hours is always a good idea.

Academic Honesty: Students are encouraged to work together while learning, but grades are based on individual achievement. Thus, any work that a student submits for a grade must be that student's work. Answers received from answer sites, like CHEGG, and answers generated by an LLM/AI are not considered a student's work in this class. Academic honesty is important, and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. If an instance of academic dishonesty is uncovered, the student(s) in question may receive a 0 for the assignment or fail the class altogether.

Students may not work together on graded assignments. For example, students are encouraged to get together to talk about the readings, work out problems from the textbook, or talk about the problems reviewed during class, but students are not allowed to work together on the assignments that are to be submitted for a grade.

The academic integrity and misconduct policies (https://catalog.westfield.ma.edu/content.php?catoid=45&navoid=2118#integrity) include additional potential consequences including suspension or dismissal from the university.

Crib sheets are not allowed during tests; a periodic table will be provided. Students may use university supplied molecular modeling kits if they wish while taking exams.