CHM 2210, Organic Chemistry I, Spring 2022

Section 25425: MWF – 2nd Period, FLI 50

Section 25427: MWF – 6th Period, CLB C130
Section 25428: MWF – 7th Period, FLI 50

Instructor: Dr. Jason D. Portmess (Dr. J) Office: Sisler 328

Office Hours: Monday: 10:30am-11:30pm Email: portmess@ufl.edu (ONLY!)
(SIS 340) Wednesday 10:30am-11:30am

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME EMAILS VIA CANVAS

Whose "Brilliant" Idea Was It for Me to Take Organic Chemistry, Anyway? Good question. What is the issue with
Organic Chemistry that causes students to view the course with so much anxiety? Maybe you've heard comments from students
who have recently finished the course. Something like: "You have to memorize five gazillion reactions, and then they don't
even ask you the ones you've had in class on the exams!" How you approach the course will go a long way in how you will
perform in the course. I view the process of learning Organic Chemistry like learning a new language or driving a car. No one
ever became fluent in a foreign language by memorizing sentences nor do we memorize the steps to back the car out of the
driveway and take off to a particular destination, while navigating traffic with variable environmental conditions. We acquire
these skills through consistent practice, repetition and exposing ourselves to new situations and scenarios. Memorizing a list
of chemical reactions will take you as far as memorizing a list of vocabulary words in a foreign language. In short, not very
far. Instead, you will need to refresh yourself with some of the basic properties of atoms and molecules, so that we can delve
into the principles that help us to describe, and predict, how and why Organic reactions take place. With steady practice and
repetition, we will be able to acquire another skill that is necessary for this course and beyond – pattern recognition. Pattern
recognition is the cornerstone of all diagnostics and every diagnostician will tell you that this is a skill that must be
honed…..never memorized. You'll be expected to learn about and really understand the ground rules of chemical change, so
that you can apply them in a logical way to completely new kinds of situations, and come up with sensible answers and
alternatives. We live in a world now where the answers to past questions are easily found. This is no longer considered a
marketable skill in today’s information society. It is up to you to develop your mind so that you will be better equipped to
answer the questions that have not even been asked yet. That path begins here. And now for all of the technical stuff…

Course Description: This is the first of two basic courses that describe the chemistry of hydrocarbon based compounds.
Specific topics to be covered include structure, nomenclature, stereochemistry, and the reactivity of various organic functional
groups with a particular emphasis on the following: alkanes, cycloalkanes, alkyl halides, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols and ethers.
The importance of understanding and writing detailed mechanisms will be emphasized throughout the course in addition to
developing the strategies necessary for routine and multi-step synthesis problems. Bottom Line: This course is designed to
prepare you for the complex, integrated world of Organic 2!

This course is participating in UF All Access, the least expensive and fastest way to get access to your course materials
for the semester. Please visit the Bookstore All Access Site to opt-in and purchase your required Connect code. This
will provide you access to the eBook, solutions manual and the OWLv2 online homework assignments.

Text: Brown, Foote, Iverson, Anslyn, Organic Chemistry, 6th, 7th or 8th Edition (highly recommended) and accompanying,
Solutions Manual, Organic Chemistry, 6 th,7 th or 8th Edition (recommended – with caution…it can be addictive and lead to a
false sense of self). Traditional CHM 2210 course coverage will be Chapters 1-11.

Email and Discussion Board Etiquette: We will use typical business hours as guidance for Email and Discussion Board
correspondence. Bottom Line: If you send me an email (or post a message on our Discussion Board) M-F between the hours
of 8am-5pm then I will make every effort to reply on the same day. Any email sent after 5pm (or on the weekend) will be
addressed on the next business day. Unless absolutely necessary, I will NEVER send you an email (or Canvas announcement)
during “off-business hours” and I would hope you would respect this etiquette and do the same. Additional information
regarding the Discussion Board can be found on our Canvas site.
Lecture Topic Presentations: All course content this semester will be made available to you via our Canvas site. The
materials will be presented by utilizing a variety of different presentation platforms (handouts, timely Canvas announcements,
pre-recorded video lectures, etc.). This platform will allow you to watch the Lecture Topic Presentations (LTPs) at your
convenience, but you must maintain a diligent, consistent routine that works best for you (see PHILOSOPHY on page 4) in
an effort to keep up with the OWLv2 online homework assignments and our scheduled examinations. Organic Chemistry is
not a sprint – it is a journey that takes two cumulative semesters to complete. No one can become proficient at Shakespeare
by reading CliffsNotes, nor can you become proficient in this course by buying what someone else has produced. To assist
you in your time management, I will provide you a LTP Viewing Guide (in production) that will be made available on our
Canvas site.

Classroom Meetings: For more than 15 years, I have managed my course in the most traditional of methods: I deliver the
required content of the course with minimal time available for providing examples or strategies for solving problems, and the
students take notes on the content while copying the example problems verbatim, without thinking. At the end of the semester,
I would read course evaluations and the #1 pedagogical complaint was “there were not enough practice problems being solved
during lecture”. I could not agree more. Problem: There is a required amount of material (500+ pages of text) that must be
covered, but there is such a limited amount of time (less than 40 hours of scheduled classroom time). Solution: Provide all of
the course materials for the students to view on their own and use our dedicated, scheduled classroom meetings for answering
questions, developing strategies and doing what students need….more practice, at solving problems. These classroom
meetings will be designed to reinforce the content that is presented in the LTPs, as well as other timely items based on our
location within the course.

Please DO NOT attend these classroom meetings if you are not feeling well. These sessions will be video recorded and
released on Canvas. Attending classroom meetings can be instrumental to your success in the course, but you will
NEVER be penalized for missing these sessions.

Evaluation Items for the Semester

1) ALEKS Prep for Organic Chemistry (12 pts): The ALEKS Prep course is designed to evaluate your current
understanding of various topics from General Chemistry (this is your Initial Knowledge Check), and then to provide targeted
instruction to fill in the gaps. The goal is for everyone to be ready to hit the ground running on the first day of class and do
well on the first exam, which is why we are asking you to complete the ALEKS Prep course. You must obtain 100% for your
Pie Completion chart in order to earn the full credit for the assessment. You MUST complete this assessment by January
31, 2022 @ 11:59PM to earn the following credit:

% Pie Credit Earned

0-69% 0pts
70-79% 6pts
80-89% 8pts
90-98% 10pts
99-100% 12pts

Please refer to the email sent to you on December 15th for additional details or you can access this information on our Canvas
site.

2) OWLv2 Online Homework and Assessments (88 pts): Our primary purpose for the OWL system, is based on three basic
principles: i) To ensure that you are routinely keeping up with the material with low to moderate difficulty assessments and
“low stakes” point values. ii) Weekly and multi-weekly assessments will be due to discourage falling behind the material and
to incentivize that learning the material is more easily integrated in smaller, more manageable topics. Binge watching a whole
season of Breaking Bad in a weekend is entertainment. The material of this course requires serious thought while learning how
to integrate it with past information. “Learning without thinking is useless. Thinking without learning is dangerous”. iii) To
give students who demonstrate constructive, productive effort, a path toward receiving a minimal grade to pass this class but
more importantly move on to Organic 2 with the pre-requisite skills to pass that more challenging course. In most situations,
you will be provided 3 attempts for a particular OWL topic. So, with proper preparation, a concentrated effort, and a recognition
of the number of “attempts” remaining, the OWL portion of the course should not only allow you to learn from your mistakes,
but it is designed to improve your final grade in the course. So often in life, the hard work we apply toward the pursuit of our
goals is unrewarded. OWL is like doing push-ups. You put the time in – you will get the results.
3) Exams: Progress/Assembly Exams 1-3 will be delivered “in-person” on the following dates below. Room locations will be announced via
Canvas Announcements. There will NOT be any non-proctored online examinations for this course.

Exam #1: Thursday, February 10th (8:20PM – 9:50PM)

Exam #2: Thursday, March 24th (8:20PM – 9:50PM)
Exam #3: Monday, April 25th (5:30PM – 7:00PM)

Considerations for scheduling conflicts (religious holidays, higher ranking assembly exams,
and university sponsored events) will be made but must be presented to the instructor 5 days
prior to the scheduled assessment.

It is possible for you to earn up to 100 points for each exam. All assessments will be cumulative, but the emphasis (60-70%)
of each assessment will be focused on unevaluated (“new”) material and 30-40% will be considered foundational (“old”)
material. All language courses build on a solid foundation of fluency. Organic Chemistry is no different.

Exam Absences: These will be handled in accordance with official UF academic regulations. For more information, see
https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/. Please read below for further clarification for the most common
situations:

(1) Conflicts with other events: Acceptable reasons to miss a scheduled exam include conflicting evening
exams in courses with higher course numbers, religious holidays, military obligations, special curricular
requirements (e.g., attending professional conferences), or participation in official UF sanctioned activities such as
athletic competitions, etc. For more information on such absences see the official UF Policy at
https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/#absencestext ). If you must be absent for
an exam due to a documented and approved conflict known in advance, you must e-mail your instructor the relevant
documentation at least one week prior to the scheduled exam and an early conflict exam will be scheduled for you.

(2) Missing an exam due to an emergency or sudden illness: If you are absent for an exam due to an
unpredicted documented medical reason or family emergency, you must contact the instructor within 24 hours of
the missed assessment, and then follow up by having your excuse verified by the Dean of Students Office
(DSO). Your instructor will follow UF academic regulations in evaluating the notification and/or documentation
received by you and by the DSO on your behalf. Once confirmed by your instructor, a make-up exam will then be
scheduled. If your documentation is deemed insufficient to excuse your absence, or you fail to contact your
instructor 24 hours after the examination, then you will receive a zero for the missed assessment.

Improvement Bonus Points: Most students who have taken Organic Chemistry will agree that each approaching exam was
more difficult than any exam taken previously. Many will often come to me after a test and say, “
Dr. J, I worked harder preparing for this test than the last exam and my score didn’t change.” Despite the fact that the score
did not change, your abilities must have improved because the difficulty of the material continually increases. This was the
genesis for the Personal Best Improvement Bonus. This is designed to reward students who show improvement even while
the material has become more difficult. This bonus will be awarded for any exam performance that is equal to or exceeds a
previous “personal best”. The value of the PB bonus will be determined by the instructor and can be earned each time a
“personal best” score is equaled or exceeded. I consider the ultimate goal of Organic Chemistry is to help mold you into the
best version of yourself as a student. This bonus system was established to reward those that demonstrate that evolution.

Grading: The final grade will be determined by the 3 exams (300 pts), the ALEKS Prep Course (12 pts) and the OWLv2
Online Homework and Assessments (88 pts) for a total of 400 possible points. I find in life it is best to exceed expectations
rather than relying on the performance of others to dictate outcome. Therefore, to earn the grade that you desire, you must
perform at a certain level. In other words, like the game of golf (and life), you are competing against yourself and the course
– not each other. Letter grades will be assigned based on the grading scale below. Plus/flat/minus grades will be determined
and assigned by the instructor. Some alterations in grading scale may occur to account for unusual circumstances but the
numbers described below are guarantees. Go get it!

A/A- 89.00-100% C- thru D- 50.00-61.99%

B+/B/B- 76.00-88.99% E less than 50.00%
C+/C 62.00-75.99%

IMPORTANT: A minimum grade of “C” is required to enroll in CHM 2211 (Organic 2)

PHILOSOPHY

Attendance: This course is not an attendance-based course but your success in this class will most certainly be determined
by your level of effort and discipline. Having said that, time spent is NOT an accomplishment. Simply spending a large amount
of time on a subject will not make you an expert and it will not provide you the confidence to perform well on assessments.
To be successful, the time you spend must be planned and properly executed in order to generate maximum performance with
minimal effort. I seriously doubt there is a single student in this course that is looking to spend one more minute on this material
than is absolutely necessary to achieve the outcome they desire. The only exception to that would be if you are a chemistry
major looking to one day pursue a career in Organic Chemistry. In Spring 2021, I had over 950 students in my Organic 2
course and I only had one student who proclaimed that to be their plan. I wonder what the number will be this semester? More
often than not, the answer to that question is zero. But, this course is so much more than just another “weed-out” class that
stands in the way of your goal. It is a course that forces you to ask yourself serious questions: Where do I want to go? What
do I want to be? What am I willing to do? What am I willing to sacrifice? How bad do I want it? My greatest hope for each
of you will be that you can confidently answer these questions when this course comes to an end. To leave better off than when
you arrived. That should be the goal for any course. So much more than, “What molecule consumes more added equivalents
of molecular bromine, THC or CBD?”

Doing Problems: "I must have studied 50 hours and not a single thing on the test is what I studied. I understand what you
are saying in lecture, I do ALL of the problems, but why did I get a 52 on the exam?” These statements and this question are
as frustrating for me to hear and answer as it is for you to say and ask. My best advice to you is to work as many problems as
YOU can. Honestly work them - write them out on paper, balance equations, show lone pairs, draw arrows, identify non-zero
formal charges, etc. Don't turn to the solutions manual at the first moment of struggle. The struggle is real and the struggle is
absolutely necessary to make the mental connections required to be successful. Successful diagnostics is born out of pattern
recognition. Don’t deny yourself this opportunity by simply turning to an answer. Answers are irrelevant without a logical,
diagnostic process. Relying on the solutions manual or watching someone on an online video can be a monumental mistake.
Maybe this will sound familiar…"Let me just see how they did it…. Hmmm….Yep, that's what I thought the answer was
supposed to be. Next question…." Before you know it, you have tricked yourself into believing that you understand the
problems, but then the test comes along and you don't know where to begin. Suddenly you feel the stress of the exam because
you are not confident in your preparation. This is not a scare tactic – it is a reality if you do not spend the time developing a
process. I cannot stress this enough, while at the same time I do not understand why in a recent survey that I gave to my
students, nearly 25% of them said they considered textbook problems as being irrelevant.
This is not a course where your performance is determined by your ability to regurgitate facts or figures. To be
successful in this class, you must be fluent enough in the language of Organic Chemistry to diagnose the problem, determine the
best course of action, and apply what you have learned to new situations. The best way to acquire this skill is to work a lot
of problems. The more problems YOU attempt, the more YOU will learn. It is that simple. Kn o wled g e Co mes fro m
th e Lea rn in g . Watching me, teaching assistants, online videos or paid, off-campus services solve problems will not acquire
a skill for YOU any more than watching Caeleb Dressel work out will make you a better swimmer. If YOU are not the one
getting frustrated, then YOU are not the one who will do well. If YOU are not the one exhausted from doing more problems
in a single subject than you have ever done in your life….then YOU will be the one wondering “What happened?” after an
exam.
“So how many problems should I attempt from each chapter?” There are two basic philosophies in practicing
anything to acquire great skill (physical or mental). Some people practice until they get it right and some practice until they
CAN’T get it wrong. Which group do you think is the most successful? Answer this question, and you will be well on your
way to knowing how many problems to attempt. Having said that, a list of Pertinent Practice Problems (with alterations) from
the textbook will be provided and can be accessed from our Canvas site (Textbook Problems Page).

FINAL NOTE:

If you did not know how to swim and you suddenly found yourself overboard you would scream for help. You would
not worry how people would think of you and the fact that you could not swim. If you feel like the waves of Organic Chemistry
are beginning to crash around you, come and get help before it is too late. Getting help is not a sign of weakness…it is a sign
of strength. Better yet, seek out guidance before you need the help so that bad habits do not set in. It is rare in life that
something FREE is better than paying a price, but here are some FREE options that truly are superior. I have the statistics to
back it up.
 FREE Help
1. Dr. J’s Office Hours: Being able to have your questions answered is an important step in the learning process. Not having them
answered or moving on without real understanding can undermine your efforts and waste valuable time. I will be able to assist you this
semester beyond just our Classroom Meeting times through “in-person” office hours (Sisler 340) and by monitoring our course’s Online
Discussion Board (see Canvas Homepage). With nearly 600 students registered this semester, using the Discussion Board (DB) can
be one of the most effective ways to answer questions and keep them organized for all students to view. The DB provides a platform
where a greater number of questions can be asked, organized and be permanently available for later review. The DB also provides an
opportunity for students to read commonly asked questions and follow my responses without the redundancy which can occur during
“in-person” office hours. Further, there will be several lecture-based questions, textbook alterations, and general student inquiries that
will be asked throughout the semester, and the Discussion Board will be the place to find (or post) the answers.

2. Dr. J’s UGTAs: It has been my mission for the past 10 years to make sure that no student in my class should have to spend
an extra dime to be successful in my course. For the past 7 years I have worked with my army of UGTAs in conjunction with
the Broward Teaching Center to make this dream closer to a reality. This semester I will have nearly 20 undergraduate students
who have taken my Organic 2 course and decided to stay and help you in Organic 1. This speaks volumes to their dedication
and their willingness to assist me in my mission. They will be providing UGTA Discussion sessions throughout the week but
to attend these sessions you must sign up. This is not a required activity but attending a session once a week (or more) can
really improve your standing in the course. For instance, last semester my UGTAs received almost 250 Shoutouts from their
students. The average final score of those students was 7% points higher than those who did not attend UGTA sessions.
Although I am biased, my UGTAs are a collection of students that are the best that this university has to offer, they are all
yours, and they are FREE. There are plenty of opportunists out there that will tell you otherwise but only these UGTAs have
been through this process, for our course. I trust them – so should you. At this time all UGTA Discussion sessions will be
planned to be in person, but we may have some Zoom options as well. Stay tuned! I will provide more information in the
coming days about how to sign up for a UGTA, but for now I will leave you with this student testimonial:

I had *** as my UGTA and his group chat and review sessions helped me in the class. I am also very grateful
for the practice exams and videos that the UGTAs released before each exam. This was my second time taking
Orgo 2 and last Semester I finished with a 33% in the class using *****_ ****. This Semester I tried even
harder and was able to pass without needing outside resources, and I believe it was partially due to the
resources the UGTAs provided.

Bottom Line: There will be nearly 40 hours of scheduled time

available for FREE assistance.

3. Broward Teaching Center

See our Canvas site for details.

4. Organic Chemistry Learning Center (OCLC) - The OCLC is located in CCB 205 and is staffed by graduate students
from the Department of Chemistry. These graduate TAs can assist you with Lecture (present) and Organic Laboratory content
(future). This schedule should become available by the end of the first week of classes.
 Standard Syllabus Statements

Listed below are standard syllabus statements that meet CALS and UF requirements for undergraduate and graduate courses.
All of these topics must be included in the syllabus. These cover the minimum requirements. More details can be added at the
instructor’s discretion.

Academic Honesty

As a student at the University of Florida, you have committed yourself to uphold the Honor Code, which includes the following
pledge: “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest
standards of honesty and integrity.” You are expected to exhibit behavior consistent with this commitment to the UF academic
community, and on all work submitted for credit at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied:
"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

It is assumed that you will complete all work independently in each course unless the instructor provides explicit permission
for you to collaborate on course tasks (e.g. assignments, papers, quizzes, exams). Furthermore, as part of your obligation to
uphold the Honor Code, you should report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. It is
your individual responsibility to know and comply with all university policies and procedures regarding academic integrity and
the Student Honor Code. Violations of the Honor Code at the University of Florida will not be tolerated. Violations will be
reported to the Dean of Students Office for consideration of disciplinary action. For more information regarding the Student
Honor Code, please see: https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/

Campus Helping Resources

Students experiencing crises or personal problems that interfere with their general well-being are encouraged to utilize the
university’s counseling resources. The Counseling & Wellness Center provides confidential counseling services at no cost for
currently enrolled students. Resources are available on campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career
or academic goals, which interfere with their academic performance. Your well-being is important to the University of Flo-
rida. The U Matter, We Care initiative is committed to creating a culture of care on our campus by encouraging members of
our community to look out for one another and to reach out for help if a member of our community is in need. If you or a
friend is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu so that the U Matter, We Care Team can reach out to the student in
distress. A nighttime and weekend crisis counselor is available by phone at 352-392-1575. The U Matter, We Care Team can
help connect students to the many other helping resources available including, but not limited to, Victim Advocates, Housing
staff, and the Counseling and Wellness Center. Please remember that asking for help is a sign of strength. In case of
emergency, call 9-1-1. Here is a list of the most common resources that are available to you.

U Matter, We Care: If you or someone you know is in distress, please contact

umatter@ufl.edu, 352-392-1575, or visit U Matter, We Care website to refer or report a
concern and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.

Counseling and Wellness Center: Visit the Counseling and Wellness Center website
or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services as well as non-crisis
services.

Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the
care you need, or visit the Student Health Care Center website.

University Police Department: Visit the UF Police Department website or

call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).

UF Health Shands Emergency Room / Trauma Center: For immediate medical care call
352-733-0111 or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; Visit the UF Health
Emergency Room and Trauma Center website.

GatorWell Health Promotion Services: For prevention services focused on optimal

wellbeing, including Wellness Coaching for Academic Success, visit the GatorWell website
or call 352-273-4450.
Academic Resources

E-learning technical support: Contact the UF Computing Help Desk at 352-392-4357 or

via e-mail at helpdesk@ufl.edu.

Career Connections Center: Reitz Union Suite 1300, 352-392-1601. Career assistance
and counseling services.

Library Support: Various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or
finding resources.

Teaching Center: Broward Hall, 352-392-2010 or to make an appointment 352-

392-6420. General study skills and tutoring.

Writing Studio: 2215 Turlington Hall, 352-846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting,

and writing papers.

Student Complaints On-Campus: Visit the Student Honor Code and Student
Conduct Code webpage for more information.

Services for Students with Disabilities

The Disability Resource Center coordinates the needed accommodations of students with disabilities. This includes
registering disabilities, recommending academic accommodations within the classroom, accessing special adaptive computer
equipment, providing interpretation services and mediating faculty-student disability related issues. Students requesting
classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide
documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.
Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester. Please contact the DRC in Reid
Hall at 352-392-8565 or go to their website at: www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/

Absences and Make-Up Work

Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments and other work are consistent with university policies
and can be found at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx
Online Student Course Evaluations

Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing online evaluations at
https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but it will be
announced to students when the evaluation period opens. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to
students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

Grades and Grade Points

For information on current UF policies for assigning grade points, see

https://www.advising.ufl.edu/resources/gpa-calculator/

Software Use:

All faculty, staff and students of the university are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing
software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such
violations are also against university policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.