Investigative Organic Chemistry
Overview
This unit is a second year University level chemistry unit, designed for students who have completed first year chemistry and intend to major in the chemical science (including biotechnology). This unit aims to introduce organic chemistry and build upon practical organic laboratory skills at an advanced level. Students are expected to develop their specific expertise in organic chemistry through this unit.
Requisites
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Understand the concept of electrophiles and nucleophiles, acidity and basicity, and be able to use curly arrow notation to represent electron movements to rationalise chemical observations
- Describe the mechanism of aliphatic nucleophilic substitution and aromatic electrophilic substitution reactions, and apply the inherent principles to the determination of the products of reaction, and their distribution
- Demonstrate proficient knowledge on the mechanism and products formed from main types of chemical reactions of carbonyl compounds
- Demonstrate proficient knowledge of stereochemistry and stereoisomers of organic compounds
- Apply functional groups inter-conversions and retrosynthetic analysis approach for practical organic synthesis
- Demonstrate proficient knowledge of polymers and their synthesis methods
- Comply chemical safety and care for fellow students in the chemical laboratory
- Develop laboratory skills and chemical safety knowledge for practical organic chemistry
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Lecture |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Lecture |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Lab |
3.00 | 12 weeks | 36 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
7.50 | 12 weeks | 90 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual | 5 - 15% | 1,4 |
| Assessment | Individual | 20 - 25% | 4,5,6 |
| Laboratory Report | Individual/Group | 35 - 40% | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 |
| Mid-Semester Test | Individual | 20 - 25% | 1,2,3 |
Hurdle
As the minimum requirements of assessment to pass a unit and meet all ULOs to a minimum standard, an undergraduate student must have achieved:
(i) an aggregate mark of 50% or more, and
(ii) obtain at least 40% in the final exam, and must
(iii) obtain at least 40% of the possible marks for the laboratory hurdle.
Students who do not successfully achieve hurdle requirements (ii) and (iii) will receive a maximum of 45% as the total mark for the unit.
Content
- Carbocations
- Acidity and basicity
- Nucleophilic aliphatic substitution
- Electrophilic aromatic substitution
- Carbonyl chemistry
- Stereochemistry
- Practical organic synthesis approach
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.