CYL100 General Chemistry
II Semester 2013-2014

Administrative Trivia

This is a two-section class. Both sections meet in IVLT3 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday - at 8 am in the morning and 3 pm in the afternoon. Prof. Narayanan Kurur, Prof. S. Nagendran, and Prof. N. G. Ramesh, in that order, will lecture on the Physical, Inorganic, and Organic Chemistry portions of the course. All administrative issues will be handled only by Narayanan Kurur, the course coordinator. The coordinates of the instructors are given below.
N. Kurur Room # MS 733 IIG-2
S. Nagendran Room # MS 726
N. G. Ramesh Room # MS 732

Office hours

All the instructors will be available in their respective offices on Mondays and Thursdays between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm for course-related discussions including providing extra help, seeking clarification of material presented in class and following up on aspects of the class.

References

There is no single book that discusses the subject matter for this course at the required level. Here is a short list of possible books that you could consult.

  1. P. W. Atkins and J. de Paula, Physical Chemistry, Oxford, 2011

  2. D. A. McQuarrie and J. D. Simon, Physical Chemistry, Viva, 2012

  3. R. T. Morrison, R. N. Boyd, and S. K. Bhattacharjee, Organic Chemistry, Pearson, 2011

  4. D. G. Morris, Stereochemistry, RSC, 2001

  5. P. Sykes, A Guidebook to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry, Pearson, 1986

  6. J. E. Huheey, E. L. Keiter, and R. L. Keiter, Inorganic Chemistry, Harper Collins, 1993

  7. B. D. Gupta and A. J. Elias, Basic Organometallic Chemistry, Universities Press, 2013

There are numerous copies of these books (and others with similar sounding titles and content) in the central library. Finding the appropriate section to read in a book of your choice is probably the toughest task!

Attendance policy

If your attendance falls below 75%, you will be awarded 1 grade less than the actual grade that you earn.

Exams

Two minor exams (2 x 20%) and a final exam (50%) make up 90% of the overall grade. You will be allowed to re-take an exam if you were absent on the scheduled date for medical reasons (supported by a medical certificate).

Homework

There will be 10 homeworks during the semester which will contribute 10% to the overall grade. The homework assignment will be available for download from the course website on Friday (excluding exam weeks and mid-semester break). The completed work is due before the lecture class on the Friday of the following week. You will hand write your homework on sheets of paper that are securely fastened. Homework without a name, entry number, and tutorial group will not be graded. Collaboration with classmates to discuss problem solving strategies is encouraged. Just to reiterate, outright copying constitutes academic dishonesty.

The homework will be checked for completeness, effort, and skimmed for accuracy of the solutions. It will be given a grade - 0, 1, or 2. You are awarded 2 if you make a serious effort, 1 if there is a shortfall in effort, and 0 if you do not turn in anything. Homeworks turned in late are not accepted.

The solutions to the problem sets will be made available on the course website. Compare your solutions with the "right" ones. If you are unclear about the solutions, talk to the instructor during their office hours.

Course contents

Driving force in physical and chemical transformation

Entropy and free energy changes (5 lectures)

Physical transformation of substances

Phase and chemical equilibria (5 lectures)

Structure and dynamics of microscopic systems

Application of quantum theory to chemical systems (5 lectures)

Physical basis of atomic and molecular structure

(5 lectures)

Organometallic compounds

Structure and catalytic applications(3 lectures)

Coordination compounds

Electronic spectra, magnetic properties, and distortions from a crystal field perspective (3 lectures)

Metal ions in biological systems

Hemoglobin, myoglobin and carbonic anhydrase (3 lectures)

Silicon based compounds

Synthesis, structure and applications of silicones and zeolites (2 lectures)

Three dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules

Stereochemistry: chirality and topicity (5 lectures)

Structural effects on reactivity

Acidity, basicity, nucleophilicty as variables, kinetic vs. thermodynamic control of reactions (3 lectures)

Molecular synthesis and reaction mechanism of carbon based compounds

Substitution and elimination (4 lectures)

GOOD LUCK!