Course Description: A laboratory class where the fundamental techniques of the organic laboratory will be practiced. In addition to learning basic techniques, the laboratory will help make the ideas being covered in the classroom more concrete.

Students are expected to comply with all University policies and procedures including those pertaining to COVID (https://www.westfield.ma.edu/covid).

Required personal protective equipment: In addition to wearing the appropriate clothing in lab, lab coats and eye protection that protect against liquid splash are required. The bookstore typically stocks safety goggles and lab coats can be purchased from on-line stores (students have reported using Amazon) or local medical supply stores (students have reported using USA Medical Supply 1779 Riverdale St., West Springfield, MA 01089 in the past). Your eye protection must satisfy the ANSI Z87 D3 standard (the D3 part of the standard is important as it is the one that specifies that the eye protection provides protection from liquid splash.) Please see the handout that describes the acceptable goggle choices for this lab.

I reserve the right to unilaterally change this syllabus. Any change to this syllabus will be announced in class, and the changes, including the date the change was announced, will be added to this document.

Grading and Assignments: Three types of assignments will be used to assess progress in the lab: laboratory notebook assignments, laboratory reports, and laboratory technique.

• Graded notebook assignments are worth 30 points each. In addition to the description that is given below, the class webpage has a handout that describes a sample notebook. Notebooks will be checked at the beginning of the class, and students with incomplete pre-laboratory assignments will be asked to leave to complete the pre-laboratory assignment. Each student's notebook will be collected and graded several (nominally four) times a semester. The notebook pages will be collected at the end of the lab..
  
  The notebook has five sections. The first three sections must be completed before coming to the laboratory. The five required sections are listed below.
  • Reaction: write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction that will be performed (draw structures in addition to writing chemical formulas). If the experiment is an isolation or purificuation of a compound, simply draw the structure of the compound and write down a brief description; e.g., "Isolation of compound X from Y". If the experiment is a collection of test reactions, choose a representative reaction and draw it.
  • Materials: make a list of all of the materials that are to be used in during the experiment. For reactants, solvents, and products include molar masses, boiling and freezing points, densities, and notable hazards. Also list materials that aren't reactants, solvents, or products (filtering aids, chromatography agents, etc.), and list notable hazards associated with these materials. You may divide the work of finding the information for the reagents and products with your peers; nevertheless, your notebook must contain all the appropriate information.
  • Procedure: briefly summarize the steps that you will follow so that you will be able to work safely and efficiently in lab.
  • Data and Observations: record of what was actually done during the experiment. For example, if the plan calls for 0.400 g of a reagent, but 0.411 g was used the change would be noted here. Qualitative observations should also be noted here.
  • Calculations: record any calculations that need to be performed to do the experiment (stoichiometry calculations) or at the end of the experiment (% yields and recoveries) should be done in this section.
• Typically, laboratory reports are due at the beginning of the next laboratory class after completing the laboratory activity. Laboratory reports are worth 40 points each. Each handout describes the required report that will be used to assess progress in this lab. The type of laboratory report that is required will be different for each activity.
• Laboratory technique will be evaluated each lab, and the evaluations are worth 10 points each. One of the most important aspects of working in the laboratory is laboratory safety. Violations of the safety policies will result in the loss of laboratory technique points, and continued disregard for safety policies will result in expulsion from the laboratory.

Attendance: Students are required to attend lab and arrive on time. There are no make up laboratories. Absence from a lab will result in a 0 for that lab. Extenuating circumstances (illness, family emergency, university sanctioned event, etc.) will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Extenuating circumstances other than illness or an emergency should be discussed before an absence. Typically, the first absence due to illness, university sanctioned event, etc. will be treated as an excused absence and missing work will not be factored into the grade. A second excused absence would likely require make-up work and would have too be discussed with me. Students missing three or more laboratory activities will not receive a passing grade for the class. As before, extenuating circumstances will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Laboratory Manual: Handouts.

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:15 to 12:00. I am available some Monday and most Friday afternoons outside of posted office hours. I am often available on Tuesdays and Thursdays for unscheduled pop ins. On the other hand, please don't show up just before class unless it is absolutely necessary. If you need to see me before class please make an appointment, and in general, making an appointment to make certain I'm available outside of my posted office hours is always a good idea.

Additional Resources:
http://www.westfield.ma.edu/cmasi/

Academic Honesty: Students are encouraged to work together while learning, but grades are based on individual achievement. Thus, any work that a student submits for a grade must be that student's work. Academic honesty is important, and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Scientific integrity depends on academic honesty. Lack of scientific integrity has serious consequences: people have been terminated and sued for releasing trade secrets, court cases have been thrown out for dishonest behavior in crime laboratories, and lives can be lost if scientific data is misrepresented. If an instance of academic dishonesty is uncovered, the student(s) in question may receive a 0 for the assignment or fail the class altogether. The academic honesty policy (https://catalog.westfield.ma.edu/content.php?catoid=30&navoid=1348#Academic_Honesty_Policy) includes additional potential consequences including suspension or dismissal from the university.