Dr. Suzanne Theresa Mabrouk

General Information

• Class Schedule: M 2:00 - 4:50 am in Byrd Hall room 302 for the lecture and and Byrd room 412 for the laboratory.
• Office Number: Byrd Hall room 401
• Office Hours: If you have difficulty with course concepts or have any questions, please feel free to drop by for help. If my office hours do not coincide with your free time, then schedule an appointment. Keep in mind that regular help will assist you in mastering the material. If you find that I am already helping other students during office hours, ask if you may join. I usually help more than one student at a time, with each student having the opportunity to interject questions. This method makes better use of everyone's time.
  • M 1-2 pm
  • T and R 3-4 pm
  • open door policy
• Phone Number: 953-7788
• Email Address: mabrouks@citadel.edu
  If you need help at night, the best way to reach me is via email.

General Course Information

• Required Text:
  • Computation Notebook
  • Experimental Organic Chemistry: A Miniscale & Microscale Approach by Gilbert & Martin, 4th ed.
  • A Short Guide to Writing About Chemistry by Herbert Beall and John Trimbur, 2nd ed.
• Available Texts:
  • Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference by Richard J. Lewis, Sr. (at circulation desk at Daniel Library)
  • Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) (http://hazard.com/msds/) can be accessed from Blackboard.


• Course Prerequisites:
  • Chem 151, 152, 161, 162, 207 and 217
  • Each student should know how to work safely in the chemistry lab. Each student should recall the various organic lab techniques taught in Chem 217 (simple and fractional distillation, extraction, recrystallization, and melting point) and the chemistry taught in Chem 207.
• Co-requisite: Chem 208

• Course Objective: By the end of this lab course, students will be able:
  1. to synthesize organic compounds and
  2. to characterize these same compounds via chemical tests and instrumental methods.


• Course Content: Using techniques from Chem 217 and reactions from Chem 207 and 208, students will gain experience in the synthesis of various functionalized organic compounds. The preparation and isolation of all compounds will be verified using bp, chemical tests, GC, IR, mp, where applicable.

• Lectures
  • Lecture notes have already been posted for most of the experiments to Blackboard. They can be accessed using the student's six-digit CIT number without the letters CIT or any dashes as the username. Initially the password is set to the last four digits of a student's social security number; the password can be re-set at any time by the student.
  • Prior to class, students must print and study the notes in preparation for that day's quiz.
• Electronic devices: PDAs and laptop computers are allowed in the classroom for note taking. Cell phones must be set on vibrate. Only calculators may be on the desk during a quiz. The calculator may not be pre-prgrammed with formulas.

Course Grading Policy

• Honor in the Class: All students will adhere to the Citadel honor code described in The Guidon, and as such will not cheat on any work submitted to the instructor for a grade. Therefore, lab reports will not be written in conjunction with classmates, but will be written independently of anyone. Lab reports that are found to be copies will be submitted to the honor court as evidence in an honor trial. Cheating will not be tolerated!
• Quizzes will occur one week after starting an experiment. There will be assessment quiz at the end of the semester. The purpose of this final quiz is to assess the course. Make-up quizzes will only be given to students who have missed the lab or quiz due to an illness or family emergency. All quizzes to date count at mid semester. At the end of the course, the two lowest quizzes will be dropped and the remainder averaged for 60% of the final course grade. The purpose of lab quizzes is to assist students in recognizing the important aspects to an experiment: the main and side reactions, the mechanism of the main reaction, chemical test reactions and their significance, the steps of the procedure and their reason for execution. After students write their lab report with all of their resources around them, they should have a better understanding and recollection of the experiment. Quizzes will address all aspects as mentioned above of the previous experiment and the reading for the new experiment. Quizzes will include multiple choice, short answer, and calculational questions.
• Final Exam: There is no final exam in this course.
• Lab Reports: The Friday after completing an experiment, the corresponding lab report is due by 10 am. Lab reports will not be accepted late, since students must learn how to work with deadlines and how to respect the time of others. If a student anticipates an absence, he/she should submit the report early or give it to a classmate for submission. Do not submit a report on an experiment that you did not perform; this action is an honor violation! See Keeping a Laboratory Notebook (lab notebook2.doc) for details. All reports to date count at mid semester. At the end of the semester, the one lowest report will be dropped. The average of the remaining grades will constitute 40% of the final course grade. Since lab reports can be written using the lab text, students should do reasonably well on them. Therefore, lab reports are given less value in the course grade than quizzes, where the students must work independently.
• Lab Duty: Each week, each student will sign-up for a specific duty in the lab room. This task must be performed following completion of the experiment and before leaving lab. The student must then have that area and their lab bench checked by the professor before leaving .
• Make-up Labs: A missed lab can only be made up at the instructors approval, where the student has a legitimate excuse (family emergency or personal illness).  A mutually convenient time must be selected for a make-up.

• Midterm Grade: All graded material will count towards the midterm grade. Grades will be determined using the formula below.
• Formula for Final Course Grade:
  • Final Course Grade = (Quiz Avg)(0.60) + (Lab Report Avg)(0.40)
  
  

• Scale for Final Course Grades: All lab grades are awarded based on the following fixed scale.
  • A: 100-90
  • B: 89-80
  • C: 79-70
  • D: 69-60
  • F: 59-0

LD Students

• It is the responsibility of these students to provide the professor with written documentation from OASIS regarding any special needs. According to Citadel policy, all letters addressing special needs must be processed by OASIS. Letters from OASIS must be received by this professor at least two days prior to the test and mutually acceptable arrangements must be made by this same timeframe between the professor and the student. All tests will be administered in the presence of this professor.
  

Laboratory Class Format

• At 2:00 pm, students will be allowed to ask questions about the previous experiment and the reading for the new experiment.
• The quiz will be adminstered for 15-20 minutes.
• A brief and thorough lecture will be given on the day's experiment.
• Students will then conduct the experiment in compliance with safety regulations.
• Students will clean their bench space.
• Students will return all standard issue equipment to the locked drawer and all borrowed equipment to the appropriate location in the lab room.
• Students will perform a lab duty and obtain the professor's approval for all work before leaving lab.

Laboratory Attendance and Etiquette (labconduct.htm)

• Attendance at each lab is mandatory, as described in the college catalog p. 25. Failure to be present in lab without a reasonable excuse will result in a grade of 0 on that day's quiz and the associated lab report. A missed lab can only be made up at the instructors approval, where the student has a legitimate excuse (family emergency or personal illness). 
  • Students should arrive on-time if not early.
  • Tardy students should enter class quietly and take their seat. They should not ask the professor to repeat previously stated material.
• I will take attendance in the lab room, about halfway through the experiment. Students who take the lab quiz but do not perform the experiment will be turned into the Commandant's Office as Leaving Class Without Permission.
• Students are held repsonsible for learning all material discussed in class and performed in the laboratory, even when a student is absent.  Absent students should copy the notes of classmates and discuss any difficulties with the professor.
• Students should not speak while the professor or a classmate is speaking.
• Students should speak respectfuilly to the professor and all classmates.
• When a student has a question, the student should raise their hand and wait to be recognized.
  • Record the question in the margins of your notes along with the professor's response. This information will be invaluable as you study.
    
• Sleeping is prohibited in this professor's classroom. The first time a student is caught sleeping the student will be directed to the back of the classroom. The second offense by any student will result in the removal of that student and any future sleeping student from the classroom. Sleeping during class prevents one from learning important concepts.
• Food, drink, smoking, and tobacco are prohibited in Byrd Hall.
• The use of profane language is unacceptable in the presence of this professor.
• Uniforms should not be fixed in the lab room.

Student's Attitude

• be present, both in body and mind (the latter being most important!)
• be presentable (clean and kempt)
• have a positive attitude
• be friendly
• be outgoing
• ask genuine questions
• try to learn the material
• ask for help early
• make good and effective use of your time and the time of others
  
• have meaningful conversations
• choose your words carefully and wisely
  
• above all else be genuine
  

How to Study for Chem 218 Quizzes

• attend all laboratory classes, discuss excuse with professor so that work might still be made-up
• read the related experiment in the course textbook/handout, jotting questions into the margins
  
• print and read laboratory notes from Blackboard before the next class meeting, jotting questions into the margins
• ask questions during class
• stop by the professor's office with questions; bring your notes, flashcards, and textbook with you
  
• prepare and study flashcards of each organic reaction in the experiment (main, side, chemical test, and other reactions) using index cards (place reactants on one side and products on the reverse side of the card)
• re-write each mechanism from the notes (with organic reaction at top of page and mechanism below) while talking it through (follow example of professor from class); write mechanism several times with notes beside you and then start writing it without any notes present
  
• study the organic experiments with classmates, taking turns to quiz each other on the details of the experiment
  
• think about the purpose of each step of the experimental procedure and how you conducted each step
• know the name and appearance of each piece of equipment used in each step of the procedure
• know the purpose of any chemical test reactions and the evidence and conclusion for a positive test
• know how to interpret any collected data from the experiment
• know how to perform any necessary calculations and their siginificance
  

Quiz Etiquette

• Quizzes are closed book.
• Quizzes will not be scaled, regardless of class performance.
• Do not use red pen to write your quiz, since the professor will be using red ink to grade the test/final exam. Pencil is best, since you can erase mistakes.
• Students may only use scrap paper provided by the professor.  All used scrap paper must be submitted to the professor at the end of the quiz.
• Students must be quiet during a quiz.
• If you have a question during the quiz, leave your seat, bring your quiz, and whisper your question to the professor. The only legitimate questions are those for which the student is seeking clarification of a quiz question.
  
• Students must print and sign their complete name on each quiz in order for a grade to be awarded.
• After you have submitted your quiz, do not ask the professor to assess the quality of your quiz answers. Such discussions are distracting to classmates who are still writing the quiz.
• Students are prohibited from discussing the quiz with any Chem 218 student who has not already taken the quiz.  Discussions include any information pertaining to a quiz that a student would not have before taking it.  These discussions include the difficulty level and the content.
  
• Quiz scores will only be made available at the next class meeting and not before.  Quizzes will not be given to classmates in compliance with FERPA.
  

Quiz Taking Strategies

• Prior to starting the quiz, obtain scrap paper from the professor and jot down any charts or helpful information that may become mangled in your mind later.  Then you can consult this information while writing the quiz.
• Solve all problems that you know immediately, skipping all others at the present time.  Place a star beside any questions that you are skipping temporarily.
• After solving the easy problems, solve those with a star beside them.
  
• Throughout the testing period look at the clock so that you work with regard to the availability of time.  Do not expect nor demand extra time from the professor to complete your quiz.  No extra time will be granted.

Lab Schedule

Note: Miniscale procedures will be followed.

Lab Practices

• To prevent food poisoning from chemicals in the lab, food, drink, tobacco, smoking, and gum are all prohibited in the organic lab.
• To prevent eye loss, students must wear goggles at all times while working in the organic chemistry lab. Any student caught working without adequate eye protection will be required to wash their eyes at the eyewash station. Contact lenses are prohibited in the lab, as they can easily trap chemicals.
• Students will alert the professor of broken glassware, mercury spills, and any accidents that happen.
• Students will adhere to the safety precautions given for each experiment to minimize risk.
• Any student endangering the life of a classmate or the professor will be removed from the lab.
• To minimize exposure to harmful chemicals, students will recap bottles following usage.
• Students will clean their bench space after each expertiment, leaving it empty of all glassware and other paraphenalia.
• Organic liquids should be weighed directly into glassware, since they will destroy weigh trays.
• After using weigh trays, the container will be placed in the trash, the ceramic crocks.
• Students will return all of their issued equipment to their locked drawer.
• Students will return all borrowed equipment to the appropriate location in the room before leaving each day.

© COPYRIGHT 1998 SUZANNE MABROUK mabrouks@citadel.edu (modified: 1/6/09)