CM3121 - ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Academic Year 23/24 - Semester 2

Assessments:

Test 1: 25%
Test 2: 25%
Final Exam: 50%

Lecturer: Asst Prof Xi Yumeng & A/P Valiyaveettil, Suresh

Course Overview:

Reduction and oxidation of functional groups
Alkene chemistry
Enolate and alpha-alkylation reactions
Aldol and Claisen condensation
Conjugate addition
Retrosynthesis
Cycloaddition, electrocyclic reactions, sigmatropic rearrangements
Radical reactions
Carbene chemistry
Cross coupling reactions

Difficulty of the course: Average

Pace of the course: Just Right

Duration provided to prepare for tutorials: 3-4 Days

Workload of Course (Average number of actual hours spent per week)

To learn the content: 5 hours

To complete assignments: 3 hours

REVIEW

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

liangai :): Revise your CM2122 material because Prof. Xi spends the first three weeks speed-running the entire CM2122 syllabus while adding important content. Be mentally prepared to learn over 100 reagent conditions, so I suggest making summary pages early. The first half of the lectures are not recorded, so it is beneficial to attend them. However, when it came to the second half of the module, I personally found the explanations in "Clayden Organic Chemistry" to be more comprehensive. Lastly, don't worry about memorising mechanisms and conditions as a two-sided A4 cheat (summary) sheet is allowed.

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

liangai :): The content was interesting. In addition, Prof. Xi would draw on the slides, which greatly aided in the explanations!

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

liangai :): Workload was relatively alright to manage. However, the finals were difficult.

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

liangai :): Clayden Organic Chemistry is the best resource for this module.

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

liangai :): CM1102 and CM2122 are prior requirements for this course, and topics from CM3121 are covered in CM3191.

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