AIMS AND CONTENT

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Basic safety principles in the organic chemistry laboratory.
• How to keep a notebook.
• Methods for separation and purification of organic compounds, including basic theoretical principles: extraction, crystallization, distillation (simple, fractional, reduced pressure distillation, steam distillation, azeotropes), sublimation, column chromatography, thin layer chromatography.
• Analytical methods: melting point, optical rotation power.
• Redox reactions in organic chemistry: how to balance them.
• Description of the laboratory experiments: theory of the reactions and, in particular, practical aspects of the laboratory procedures will be surveyed.
• Laboratory experiments on purification methods and on syntheses of compounds. Determination of melting points, optical rotation power, diastereomeric ratio through gas chromatopgraphy coupled with MS or FID. Recording of IR and NMR spectra of the prepared compounds.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

RENATA RIVA (President)

LARA BIANCHI

LUCA BANFI (President Substitute)

CHIARA LAMBRUSCHINI (Substitute)

LISA MONI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

From September, 28, 2020 (see http://www.chimica.unige.it/didattica/orari_CTC  and/or https://corsi.unige.it/8757 for schedule)

The detailed schedule for laboratory training of the first semester will be given at the beginning of the lessons. The schedule of training of the second semester will be given within March, 1, 2021.

Class schedule

LABORATORY OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam includes a written test whose passing allows the admission to the oral test. If the oral exam is not passed, the student will have to take the written test again. At the end of the 1st semester, students who have already passed the exam of Organic Chemistry 1, will be able to take an intermediate test (only for this test the on-line registration is through Aulaweb) which, if passed, will exempt from the written test, provided that the oral exam is taken by the end of July of the same year. The CCS guarantees the correspondence between the exam topics and those actually carried out during the course. To this end, the CCS makes public (on a site called Aulaweb, reserved for teachers and students of the University) the detailed program and the register of lessons so that the students themselves can verify compliance with this rule.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

• During the course, students are required to write reports on laboratory experiments and to deliver them periodically, according to the schedule provided at the beginning of the course. The evaluation of the reports does not contribute to the definition of the exam grade.
• During the laboratory activity the teacher will verify the students level of understanding of the practical aspects related to the experiences, asking them questions that will be evaluated for the purpose of defining the judgment on the laboratory activity.
• With respect to the written test, the members of the exam commission establish criteria for the attribution of partial scores to the various answers, which also take into account the difficulty of the exam topic. Based on these criteria, it is possible to accurately associate the total score acquired with the achievement of learning outcomes. The oral exam is always conducted by two teachers. Sometimes the teachers will discuss with the student the written test, and they will ensure that the student has acquired sufficient theoretical foundations and that he has understood the meaning of the fundamental laboratory activities. In particular, the oral exam will focus on the discussion of at least one laboratory experiment and on the description of a purification technique used for organic compounds. When the goal is not achieved, the student is invited to deepen the study and to take advantage of further explanations by the teacher.
• Several parameters contribute to the final grade, with decreasing weight: a) the oral test, b) the written test, c) the judgment on the laboratory activity. A written test with a medium-low assessment (up to 21/30) and/or a barely sufficient or sufficient assessment of the laboratory activity will allow to obtain a final mark of no more than 26-27/30, regardless of the outcome of the oral test.

Exam schedule