This project provides credit worth 50% of one examination (that is, 50% of a low exam score will be replaced). You will be assigned to discuss a reaction from the current chemical literature and to lead the class in puzzling out a mechanism for it.
How it works: You will be assigned an article from one of five major organic chemistry journals. You
will spend up to 30 minutes explaining the article, or a significant aspect of it, to your classmates (the
10:30-11:00 time slot will be used for this). This will be worth the equivalent of 50% of one examination.
Sessions must be arranged in advance with the professor. Consultation with the professor on this project is strongly encouraged.
Copies of the articles will be distributed to your classmates one week beforehand. The professor will do the copying and distribution. Please note that there will be no penalty for either participating or not participating in this, and your low exam score will be adjusted only if it is to your advantage.
Organic chemistry journals via Ohiolink:
You must have a valid Bluffton University ID to access the following pages!
- The Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 2 was the world's premier journal of physical organic chemistry--which is, after all, the topic of this course. It was published through 2002 by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
- The Journal of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry is a new (2003) Royal Society of Chemistry journal that replaced Perkin Transactions 1 & 2.
- The Journal of Organic Chemistry is the American Chemical Society's venue for longer articles on organic chemistry.
- Organic Letters is the American Chemical Society's venue for rapid communications on organic chemistry.
- Tetrahedron is the worldwide journal of organic chemistry.
- Tetrahedron Letters is the "rapid communications" version of Tetrahedron.
- The European Journal of Organic Chemistry has replaced the venerable Liebigs Annalen, as well as incorporating the organic chemistry sections of the Bulletin des Société Chimiques Belges (Belgium), Bulletin de la Société Chimique de France, Gazzetta Chimica Italiana, Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas (the Netherlands), Anales de Química (Spain), Chimika Chronika (the Czech Republic?), and Revista Portuguesa de Química (Portugal)