Analytical & Organic Chemistry

Analytical & Organic Chemistry is a year-long exploration of advanced topics in chemistry. The class explores quantum models of atomic structure, covalent bonding, molecular orbital theory, intermolecular forces, condensed states, crystallography, spectroscopy, solution chemistry, multi-step reaction mechanisms, rate law determination, and equilibrium systems. Acid-base systems, how free energy drives reaction, and electro-chemical cells are discussed. That foundation is used to begin an introduction to the structures, properties, and reactions of organic substances. Second semester topics include organic nomenclature, conformational analysis, isomerism, functional group conversion, organic reaction mechanisms, and synthetic design. Throughout the year students accomplish hands-on experiments using a custom built at-home lab kit and apply computational chemistry techniques for structural determination, reaction modeling, and spectroscopic analysis (NMR, IR, and UV-Vis).