Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2011-2012 (archived)
Module CHEM3031: ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Department: Chemistry
CHEM3031: ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
| Type | Open | Level | 3 | Credits | 20 | Availability | Available in 2011/12 | Module Cap | None. | Location | Durham |
|---|
Prerequisites
- Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012) AND Ring Chemistry (CHEM2031).
Corequisites
- Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) OR , for students following the MSci in Biology and Chemistry (FGC0), Bioactive Chemistry 3 (CHEM3211).
Excluded Combination of Modules
- None.
Aims
- To expand and promote the knowledge of synthetic and mechanistic chemistry.
Content
- Catalysis and mechanism: general principles and applications.
- Natural product biosynthesis: comparison of synthetic reactions with natural reagents, methods to establish biosynthetic pathways.
- Practical work.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge:
- Apply physical principles to reveal machanistic information about organic reaction pathways;
- evaluate mechanistic data and develop a hypothesis in terms of a plausible reaction pathway;
- categorise the different types of catalytic reactions and their respective roles in asymmetric reactions;
- understand the role of organocatalysts in a number of asymmetric transformations;
- explain how physical methods have established the synthetic methods and roles of metabolites.
Subject-specific Skills:
- Prepare, purify and identify a range of compounds;
- demonstrate time management skills and an ability to plan experimental work.
Key Skills:
- Problem solving, developed through small group teaching and study;
- information retrieval and scientific writing, exercised through assignments for workshops and accounts of laboratory work.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Lectures are used to convey concepts and are examined by written papers. This is thought to be the best method to assess the knowledge of the students.
- Workshops are larger groups of students whare problems are considered and common difficulties shared. These are formatively assessed.
- Laboratory classes teach students techniques in various aspects of organic chemistry, They are continuously assessed so that the student can learn from one session to the next.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total/Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 21 | 1 per week | 1 hour | 21 | |
| Practicals | 20 | 4 per week in Term 2 | 3 hours | 60 | ■ |
| Workshops | 3 | 1 per Term | 1.5 hours | 4.5 | ■ |
| Preparation and Reading | 114.5 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component: Examination | Component Weighting: 65% | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
| Written examination | Two hours | 100% | |
| Component: Laboratory Work | Component Weighting: 35% | ||
| Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
| results of laboratory work | 100% | ||
Formative Assessment:
Set work for workshops.
■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University