CHED 113 |
| Introductory Inorganic Chemistry is a one-semester integrated lecture, discussion and laboratory course for sophomore, junior, and senior chemistry majors (approximately 30-35 students) at Boston University. This course, which requires a background in Introductory Chemistry and one semester of Organic Chemistry, is team-taught with a Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow (PFF). The curriculum introduces students to symmetry and basic group theory approaches to understand central atom hybridization, ligand group orbitals, and the construction of qualitative molecular orbital energy diagrams including both sigma and Pi bonding contributions. Students continue to utilize their understanding of group theory during an introduction of electronic spectroscopy and the use of correlation and Tanabe-Sugano diagrams. MO diagrams are then used as a starting point for understanding the reactivity properties of coordination complexes. Many topics that are initially presented are revisited later in the course in more depth. We reinforce these concepts in the laboratory, where the students synthesize, characterize, and investigate the physical and reactivity properties of coordination and organometallic complexes. The PFF attends and presents some lectures as part of his/her educational development program, teaches discussion sections, and oversees the laboratory component of the course. Discussion sections are used to both review topics presented in the lecture and to introduce concepts for the laboratory experiments. The central role of the PFF enables tight oversight relating to gaps in the students understanding of concepts and offers an important pathway for reinforcement of course content when necessary. |
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Revitalizing the Undergraduate Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry Course
8:30 AM-11:10 AM, Monday, August 20, 2007 Seaport -- Constitution Room, Oral
Division of Chemical Education |