Organic Review Topics

Last Update: July 27, 2006

To ease the transition to Organic Chemistry, the organic faculty highly recommend that a student review the following concepts from CHEM 120/121 before the first class in CHEM 329 (Organic Chemistry I).  Links are to the CHEM 120/121 outcome statements.

•Units and Measurements

»Common metric prefixes and conversions

»Density

»Exponential notation

»Significant figures

 

•Basic Atomic Theory

»Isotopes

»Structure of the nucleus

»Atomic Theory

»Computation of molecular weights of compounds

 

•Stoichiometry of Reactions

»Balancing equations

»Calculating limiting reagents

»Calculating theoretical and percent reaction yields

 

•Periodic Table

»Periodic trends in properties and reactivity of the elements especially electronegativity

»Understand the utility of the numbers of the periodic table, e.g. atomic number, atomic mass

»Valence

 

•Bonding

»Orbitals

»Ionic and covalent bonds

»Lewis dot structures

‡Octet rule

‡Resonance

‡Formal charge and the Electroneutrality Principle

»Predicting molecular shape and molecular polarity  from Lewis dot structure using VSEPR

»Valence Bond Theory (overlap model of bonding, hybridization, σ and π bonds)

 

•Intermolecular Interactions

»Types of intermolecular interactions

»How they pertain to solubility and physical properties of molecules

 

•Thermochemistry, Kinetics and Equilibrium

»Enthalpy and calorimetry

»Entropy and the Gibbs energy

»Bond energies

»Reaction rates and rate laws

»Activation energies (including temperature dependence of reactions)

»Basics of reaction mechanisms

»Catalysis

»Reversible reactions and equilibria

»Equilibrium constants (what they are, what do they tell us, basic manipulations)

»Le Chatelier's Principle

»Difference between kinetics and thermodynamics

 

•Acids and Bases

»General properties of acids and bases

»Arrhenius and Brønsted-Lowry definitions

»pH scale

»Acid-base equilibria, pK_a values and basic manipulations

 

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