Intro to Organic Chemistry
This introductory survey course will cover organic chemistry and relevant biochemistry. The cast of organic compounds is a virtual who’s who of chemicals, including foods, medicines, drugs, and cellular components. Their compositions and structures determine how they perform their functions. The course will cover the chemistry of carbon, functional groups, hydrocarbons, determining molecular structure via a variety of lab techniques, reaction mechanisms, and biochemicals. Organic chemistry is considered to be one of the most challenging and difficult college science courses, and certainly one aim of this BlendEd class is to at least partially allay student fears prior to encountering organic chem in college!
Students will work both individually and collaboratively on homework, problem sets, assessments, and projects. Molecular modeling will be emphasized. We will get together at College Prep for four 2-3 hour sessions evenly distributed throughout the semester. Three of these meetings will take place on Saturday mornings and the last meeting will be a culminating event during the last week of the course, with exact dates to be determined in consultation with the students. During these sessions, we will work collaboratively answering your questions, solving problems, doing experimentation, planning projects, and educating one another via presentations at the culminating event. Students must attend a minimum of 3 of the 4 in-person events to pass this class. Weekly online virtual classes (typically 30-60 minutes long) offer opportunities to develop course community, answer questions about the material, introduce new concepts, and to reinforce present material through group problem-solving.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of a high school chemistry course.
Watch Orgo Chem students make sense of chemical reaction mechanisms via a stop-motion animation:
About the Instructor
Jack Coakley -The College Prep School
Jack teaches chemistry, AP chemistry, and a semester-long organic chemistry elective at College Prep. In addition to belonging to several school committees, he is the senior class advisor and also coaches Cross Country and Track and Field at the school. Prior to coming to College Prep in the 1990s, Jack taught at El Cerrito High School, and had worked as a bench scientist in a Berkeley lab before getting into teaching. Jack is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in bacteriology and immunology, and did graduate work at Cal and San Francisco State University.
Student Testimonials
I really liked creating relationships with other students from different high schools and getting to learn from a different teacher. The instructor made things really easy to understand and encouraged collaboration, which helped me get the most out of this course.
Junior at Marin Academy, Spring 2019I liked the flexibility to go out my own pace during the course and being able to figure out material by myself with help from my classmates or teacher if I needed it.
Senior at College Prep, Spring 2017I liked the course material a lot, it felt really well-integrated with real science and discoveries that organic chemists and people in other fields make. The textbook is excellent for intro-level learning, too; it’s definitely got to stay.
Senior at Urban, Spring 2018