CM3221 - ORGANIC SYNTHESIS: THE DISCONNECTION APPROACH

Academic Year 25/26 - Semester 2

​

Lecturer: Prof. Zhao Yu (Part 1) & A/P Koh Ming Joo (Part 2)

​

Assessments:​

• Part 1 Lecture Test: 25%

• Part 2 Lecture Test: 25%

• Finals: 50%

​​

Course Contents: Recapped and built up from CM3121.

• First half focused on retrosynthetic analysis of organic compounds by considering functional group relationships and atom distance (1,X)

• Second half focused on main group elements and the synthesis, functionalities and modification of heterocyclic compounds

​​

​

No. of Responses: 2

​​

​

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW

What advice would you give to someone considering taking this course?

​​

Pyros: Best to do this course after or concurrently with CM3121. Attend lectures because the lecturers actually discuss various methods for retrosynthesis and also sometimes drop small nuggets of hints for the tests. Do this course if organic chemistry and problem solving is something that you enjoy. For tutorials, do not expect others to answer, as the class is small and you will probably be called out to solve the questions anyway. Lectures are held in 2h slots 2x a week and tutorials are 1h 1x a week.

​

Zhen Ting: Either take CM3121 with this, or take this before taking this mod. A lot of the reactions learnt are exactly the same for the first half of the semester, just with a different perspective.

​

​

What did you enjoy or find most useful from this course?

 

Pyros: I think the content is rich and that is enjoyable to a person like me who likes to deal with organic chem. Both lecturers go at a very fast and efficient pace, which I can keep up with and remain engaged in.

​

Zhen Ting: It was fun to break down complex molecules, and seeing synthetic pathways in a different light

​​​

​​​

What aspects of the course did you find most challenging, and why?

​

Pyros: The tutorial questions were actually challenging, but once you have built the pattern recognition for it it gets more manageable. The content is also quite fast so one has to be diligent to keep up with the week's content

​

Zhen Ting: "The sheer quantity of reactions taught and learnt is a lot. Though the examinations are all open book (printed) in order to do well one must have sufficient practice to recognize the patterns

​​

​

What resources did you find most helpful in helping you better understand the course material?

​

Pyros: Pre-reading Clayden's Organic Chem is useful. In general, having good organic fundamentals and principles and intuition will definitely help in this course

​​

Zhen Ting: Lecture slides and self made notes

​

​

What other courses do you think should be taken before or concurrently with this course?

​

Pyros: CM3121

​​

Zhen Ting: CM3121