Microscale Operational Organic Chemistry A Problem-Solving Approach to the Laboratory Course

Summary: To the InstructorThis book is a microscale laboratory textbook based on the third edition ofOperational Organic Chemistry: A Problem-Solving Approach to the Laboratory Course.Every experiment and minilab in the book can be performed by students using the microscale glassware available in a Mayo/Pike-style microscale lab kit with 14/10 standard-taper joints and threaded connectors. Most of the experiments could also b...e performed successfully with alternative microscale glassware, such as that provided in a Williamson lab kit, but some might need to be scaled down further and the instructor would have to provide additional instructions regarding the use of the glassware.Some organic chemists regard a "microscale" experiment as one involving approximately 0.1 g of the limiting reactant. Dealing with such small quantities can be discouraging to students with standard scale fingers, who end up with a drop or a few grains of product, if any. Therefore, I have adopted a working definition of a microscale experiment as one that can be performed using the glassware available in a typical microscale lab kit, along with appropriate locker supplies as recommended in theInstructor's Manual.In writing this book, I have been guided by my convictions that students (1) perform better in the organic laboratory course if they master the major lab operations early and apply them throughout the course, (2) learn organic chemistry better if they keep their minds engaged by approaching each experiment as a problem-solving exercise, and (3) perform any task better if they are sufficiently motivated.Part I is devoted to experiments designed to teach the basic laboratory operations, where anoperation,as used here, is a process that utilizes one or more basic lab techniques, such as heating, cooling, and vacuum filtration, to accomplish some end, such as the purification of a solid. Once students have mastered the major operations by completing the appropriate experiments in Part I, they should be ready to apply those operations in Part II, which contains a large selection of experiments that are correlated with topics found in most organic chemistry lecture textbooks. This operational approach helps students understand that an organic synthesis, for example, is not a unique phenomenon that can be experienced only by mechanically following a detailed "recipe." Rather, it is the outcome of a logical sequence of interrelated operations adapted to the requirements of the synthesis.In addition to teaching lab skills, the experiments in this book are designed to help students develop the observational and critical thinking skills that are essential prerequisites for a successful career in science and in virtually every other professional field. Each major experiment requires the student to solve a specific scientific problem through the application of sound scientific methodology. Before an experiment, the student must first define the problem based on information provided in a hypothetical Scenario. After a preliminary reading of the experiment, the student should be able to develop a working hypothesis regarding its outcome. During the experiment, the student gathers and evaluates evidence bearing on the problem and, as necessary, reevaluates and revises the hypothesis based on experimental observations and data. Finally, the student tests the hypothesis by obtaining a melting point, a spectrum, a gas chromatogram, or by some other means, and arrives at a conclusion. Because of the level at which most undergraduate organic chemistry courses are taught, the problems must, of necessity, be kept relatively simple and (with a few exceptions) should not be compared to "real" research problems tackled by professional chemists. It is not the intent of this book to make every student a research chemist; most students who take an organic chemistry course have no intention of going into the field. But the [read more]