Survival Guide to Organic Chemistry: Bridging the Gap from General Chemistry

by Patrick E. McMahon

Overview

The Survival Guide to Organic Chemistry: Bridging the Gap from General Chemistry enables organic chemistry students to bridge the gap between general chemistry and organic chemistry. It makes sense of the myriad of in-depth concepts of organic chemistry, without overwhelming them in the necessary detail often given in a complete organic chemistry text.

Here, the topics covered span the entire standard organic chemistry curriculum. The authors describe subjects which require further explanation, offer alternate viewpoints for understanding and provide hands-on practical problems and solutions to help master the material. This text ultimately allows students to apply key ideas from their general chemistry curriculum to key concepts in organic chemistry.

Key Features:

Reviews key general chemistry concepts and techniques, adapted for application to important organic principles

Provides practical guidance to help students make the notoriously well-known and arduous transition from general chemistry to organic chemistry

Explains organic concepts and reaction mechanisms, generally expanding the focus on how to understand each step from a more intuitive viewpoint

Covers concepts that need further explanation as well as those that summarize and emphasize key ideas or skills necessary in this field. An added bonus is help with organizing principles to make sense of a wide range of similar reactions and mechanisms

Implements a user-friendly process to achieve the end result of problem solving

Covers organic chemistry I and II concepts at the level and depth of a standard ACS organic chemistry curriculum; features practice problems and solutions to help master the material, including an extensive and comprehensive bank of practice exams with solutions

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032339795
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Pages:	676
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.36(d)

About the Author

Patrick E. McMahon has for the past twenty three years been teaching both general chemistry and organic chemistry at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Prior to that, he was a research scientist for Amoco Chemical Company at the Naperville, Illinois campus. McMahon has also taught at several institutions in the Chicago area, including Elmhurst College, Dominican University and Triton Community College. He is a member of the American Legion and served in the United States Army from 1970-1972. His main area of research interest is organic reaction catalysis. Awards that can be accredited to his name include the B.J. Babler award for outstanding contribution to under-graduate instruction at the University of Illinois, the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Benedictine University and first recipient of the Shining Star award given by the student senate for outstanding contribution to students at Benedictine University.

Bohdan B. Khomtchouk is a triple-major summa cum laude (B.Sc. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.Sc. Mathematics and B.Sc. Physics) and is currently United States Department of Defense NDSEG Fellow at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Claes Wahlestedt, MD, PhD, is Leonard M. Miller Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and is working on a range of chemistry related translational efforts in his roles as Associate Dean and Center Director for Therapeutic Innovation. The author of some 250 peer reviewed scientific publications with 30,000+ citations, his ongoing research projects concern chemical biology, epigenetics, genomics and drug/biomarker discovery across several therapeutic areas. He has experience not only from academia, but also from leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry, namely Astra-Zeneca, Pharmacia & Upjohn and Pharmacia Corporation.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: General Concepts for Covalent Bonding and Constructing Lewis Structures for Organic Molecules. Chapter 2: Guideline for Writing Organic Molecule Isomers and Determining Number of Rings Plus Pi-Bonds. Chapter 3: Guideline for Complete Analysis for Central Atoms and Molecules: Bonding/Hybridization/Geometry/Polarity. Chapter 4: Notation in Organic Chemistry: Guide to Writing and Using Condensed Formulas and Line Drawings. Chapter 5: Summary Guidelines for Organic Nomenclature. Chapter 6: Guidelines for Analysis of Intermolecular Forces for Organic Molecules. Chapter 7: Alkane and Cycloalkane Conformations. Chapter 8: Summary Guide to Thermodynamic Concepts for Organic Chemistry. Chapter 9: Guide to Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms. Chapter 10: Review of Acid/Base Concepts for Organic Chemistry. Chapter 11: Electrophiles and Nucleophiles in Organic Reaction Mechanisms. Chapter 12: Conceptual Guide to Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry. Chapter 13: Guide to Stereochemistry Concepts and Analysis of Reaction Stereochemistry as Applied to Electrophilic Addition. Chapter 14: A Process for Calculation of Product Distribution Through Relative Rate Analysis: Examples for Free Radical Halogenation. Chapter 15: Process to Identify and Solve the Reactions for Organic I. Chapter 16: Electrophilic Addition and Addition/Elimination to Conjugated Double Bond and Aromatic Systems. Chapter 17: Oxidation/Reduction Relationships for Carbonyl Carbon. Chapter 18: A Complete System for Organizing, Identifying, and Solving Carbonyl Reactions: Nucleophilic Addition and Addition/Elimination. Chapter 19: A Brief Guideline for Applying Fundamental Concepts in NMR Spectroscopy. Organic I Practice Exams. Organic II Practice Exams. Multiple Choice Exams.

Editorial Reviews

'In Survival Guide to Organic Chemistry, the authors approach concepts in organic chemistry from an angle that differs from most textbooks. Rather than the usual approach of heavy paragraphs and figures, they establish a process wherein each concept is broken into a series of manageable steps, each of which involves a singular aspect of an overarching theme. Each step includes an example illustrating that singular process. This method allows students to approach material at levels within their control, rather than all at once for any given concept. The text also provides a framework for organizing reactions and includes over 30 practice exams spanning concepts of both semesters of a typical undergraduate organic chemistry sequence. In addition to students entering organic chemistry, this text could also serve as a useful reference for students in upper-level undergraduate or graduate level courses who need to refresh fundamental concepts before delving into more complex material. Finally, faculty may find this useful as a source of practice problems in class, as well as a means of guiding conversations for students struggling with particular concepts.
—J. Tedesco, Lake Erie College

Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.'

– J. Tedesco, for CHOICE, January 2018, Vol. 55, No. 5.

This book is certainly a valuable source of educational material especially useful for young teachers looking for proven methods to overcome the barriers sometimes encountered when teaching the basics of Organic Chemistry.

—Yves Génisson, for L'Actualite Chimique, No. 436 January 2019 [Translated from the original French]

'In Survival Guide to Organic Chemistry, the authors approach concepts in organic chemistry from an angle that differs from most textbooks. Rather than the usual approach of heavy paragraphs and figures, they establish a process wherein each concept is broken into a series of manageable steps, each of which involves a singular aspect of an overarching theme. Each step includes an example illustrating that singular process. This method allows students to approach material at levels within their control, rather than all at once for any given concept. The text also provides a framework for organizing reactions and includes over 30 practice exams spanning concepts of both semesters of a typical undergraduate organic chemistry sequence. In addition to students entering organic chemistry, this text could also serve as a useful reference for students in upper-level undergraduate or graduate level courses who need to refresh fundamental concepts before delving into more complex material. Finally, faculty may find this useful as a source of practice problems in class, as well as a means of guiding conversations for students struggling with particular concepts.
—J. Tedesco, Lake Erie College

Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.'

– J. Tedesco, for CHOICE, January 2018, Vol. 55, No. 5.

From the Publisher