Inorganic chemistry focuses on the bonding, structure, and reactions of all elements of the periodic table other than carbon. Historically, organic chemistry was considered to be the chemistry of living system and inorganic chemistry that of non-living systems. However, in 1827 Friedrich Wohler synthesized urea, an organic compound (ie isolated from living systems), entirely from inorganic materials. "This result contradicted the conventional wisdom of the day, which held that only living things could make organic compounds." This definition became increasingly archaic in the 20th century with the discovery of many metals and inorganic compounds such as NO that are essential to living organisms. Since the time of Wohler organic chemistry has become the chemistry of carbon. Not to say that carbon is not involved in inorganic compunds. In fact a whole field of chemistry called organometallic chemistry is devoted to the study of the interactions of carbon with metals.

The focus of this course will be on the bonding theories, spectroscopy, and reactivity of inorganic compounds. The first third of the course will focus on the building blocks for the study of inorganic compounds, including molecular orbital theory, symmetry and group theory, and the structure of solids. This information will form the basis for further study of the stuctur, physical, and spectroscopic properties of the elements. A significant portion of the course will be devoted to the first and second row transition metals. The biological relevance of the compounds we study will be discussed in many cases. In addition to bioinorganic chemistry, topics will include organometallic chemistry, properties of solids, and the chemistry of main group elements.

In addition to the above learning outcomes, students are expected to gain familiarity with important research literature and to be able to interact and discuss the material with your peers. The class will involve lecture and group discussion. Class participation will be an important component of the course! Assigned reading from the text and supplementary material will be given in advance to allow ample preparation time.

In general the last 20-30 minutes of class will be devoted to a short lecture introducing material in the next reading assignment. The following class will begin with a discussion of the questions regarding the reading assignment along with group work on problems.

Meeting Times Mon/Wed/Fri 1020-1120am. BROH (formarly Gatehouse) 309

Text Inorganic Chemistry (4th Ed.) by Shriver and Atkins. ISBN: 0716748789 Go to Freeman Site or Go to Oxford Site (same book but the website works better)

Prerequisite Chem104 and Chem106 (or equivalent).

Homework Assigned chapter problems can be found from the Calendar Page and Assignments link above. You should keep up with homework on a DAILY basis, therefore, the daily assignment is given on the calendar. The problems from the text will be assigned on a regular basis, but will not be collected or graded. Anyone needing help with homework assignments should visit me during normal office hours or schedule a one-on-one appointment. Other resources, such as small group tutorial sessions, will also be available to help students strengthen their problem-solving skills.

Homework assignments are designed to guide you in your study of the material and should be considered the minimum set of problems to do. It is up to you to work as many problems as necessary to clarify your understanding of any particular topic.

The importance of working problems cannot be overemphasized!

1-minute essay. This is a daily writing assignment that should take no more than 1-5 minutes and is designed to promote discussion and understanding of the assigned material. The 1-minute essay consists of three parts, a statement of what you think was the main point of the previous class, one question from the previous lecture, and one question from the reading assignment. The 1-minute essay is due before the start of the next class and should be sent via email to jsigman@stmarys-ca.edu. Each class will begin with a discussion of the 1-minute essays.

Testing Weekly quizzes will be given every Friday that focus specifically on your understanding of the assigned problems. The quizzes will take exactly 10 minutes of class time. Some quiz questions will be nearly exact replicas of the homework problems. It is extremely important that you keep up with the reading and do ALL the homework on a daily basis.

There will be 2 one-hour long exams during the semester. The exams will test your ability to adapt and apply your understanding and problem-solving skills to new and somewhat unfamiliar situations, rather than ones patterned exactly like those you have seen before. Simply repeating facts or mechanically producing solutions to familiar problems will not help you excel. In fact, there will be some questions/problems on every exam that are a bit different than the ones presented in class or in the textbook.

The comprehensive final exam will be scheduled during final exam week at our alloted period (see schedule below). The final will be weighted more towards the last third of the semester but will be all inclusive.

Exam Dates

Exam #1 September 25

Exam #2 October 30

Final Exam (All assigned Chapters, with emphasis on last third) Monday, December 04, 1130am - 130pm.

Alternate exam arrangements will be considered only for excused absences with prior notification.

Presentations Each student is required to give a short (5 to 10-min.) presentation during normal class time. The focus of the presentations will be on descriptive inorganic chemistry of a main group element or family of elements. The presentation is informal. You may use the WEB, Powerpoint, handouts or other formats to aid your presentation. The talk should include 1) common chemical and structural forms of the element, 2) reactivity, and 3) its common industrial, medicinal or other uses. Anything that will generate class discussion is favorable! Our own text is a useful resource for the presentation.

Grading Your grade will be based on your performance on 10 weekly quizzes (15 pts each), two midterm exams (100 points each), a comprehensive final exam (125 points), and your (10-min) presentation (25 points) and the 1-minute essays (3 pts each).

Final letter grades will be assigned according to the percentage of points that you accumulate during the semester. The approximate ranges for letter grades will be:

A = 100-85% B = 84-70% C = 69-55% D = 54-40%

Your exact letter grade will be determined by a number of factors, including your performance on the final exam, the consistency of your performance during the term, and class participation.

Academic Honesty Students are expected to do their own work on all exams and quizzes. Violations of this policy will be vigorously prosecuted according to SMC Academic Honesty Procedures.

Tips for Success Your performance is based on exams and quizzes. Since questions on these will be based on the lectures, assigned problems, and reading (with emphasis in that order), it is important to attend lectures and do the assignments.

Keep up with the work! Assignments will be updated on a weekly basis. Check our website after each lecture for the assignments due before the next class. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of keeping up with the assignments. The material builds upon itself as the semester proceeds, so you must learn the early concepts to understand the later material.

Also, you are here at SMC to get the best possible education. Take advantage of the small class size and individual attention that a small liberal arts school can provide. Work together on assignments, and see me in my office as often as possible.