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Unit of study_

CHEM3911: Organic Structure and Reactivity (Adv)

2020 unit information

The structure and shape of organic molecules determines their physical properties, their reaction chemistry as well as their biological/medicinal activity. The determination of this structure and understanding its chemical consequences is of fundamental importance in chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal and materials chemistry. This course examines the methods and techniques used to establish the structure of organic molecules as well as the chemistry which dictates the shapes that they adopt. The first part of the course examines the use of modern spectroscopic methods (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy) which are used routinely to identify organic compounds. The second part of the course examines the chemical consequences of molecular shapes in more depth and looks at the inter-relationship between molecular shape and the processes by which bonds are made and broken (the reaction mechanism). An understanding of these processes allows the outcome of reactions to be predicted, which is an essential tool enabling the construction of complex molecules from simple starting materials. CHEM3911 students attend the same lectures as CHEM3111 students, but attend an additional advanced seminar series comprising one lecture a week for 12 weeks.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Chemistry Academic Operations

Code CHEM3911
Academic unit Chemistry Academic Operations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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[(65 or greater in (CHEM2401 or CHEM2911 or CHEM2915)) AND (65 or greater in (CHEM2402 or CHEM2912 or CHEM2916))] OR (65 or greater in (CHEM2521 or CHEM2921 or CHEM2991))
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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CHEM3111
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. use modern spectroscopic methods (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy) which are used routinely to identify organic compounds
  • LO2. demonstrate the chemical consequences of molecular shapes in more depth and looks at the inter-relationship between molecular shape and the processes by which bonds are made and broken (the reaction mechanism)
  • LO3. understand the processes which allows the outcome of reactions to be predicted, which is an essential tool enabling the construction of complex molecules from simple starting materials
  • LO4. perform safe laboratory manipulations and to handle glassware
  • LO5. find and analyse information and judge its reliability and significance
  • LO6. communicate scientific information appropriately both orally and through written work
  • LO7. engage in team and group work for scientific investigations and for the process of learning
  • LO8. develop a sense of responsibility and independence as a learner and as a scientist
  • LO9. demonstrate basic skills in computing, numeracy and data handling.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

There are no availabilities for this year.
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.