Organic Chemistry

The aim of the course is to provide the necessary fundamentals for understanding the chemical structure of organic molecules and the most common reactions of organic compounds based on the description of the main characteristic organic classes, the study of their chemical-physical properties and their reactivity, accompanied by frequent references to environmental problems. During the course will be acquired the basic knowledge for understanding the topics of upcoming courses (in the 2nd and 3rd year) such as Environmental Chemistry, Biochemistry and Food Chemistry. The acquisition of the fundamental knowledge will be favored by classroom exercises. The course also includes a single-unit laboratory in which experiments will be carried out in order the student to acquire the ability for the correct execution of an organic chemistry experiment, including the basic safety rules regarding the handling and the disposal of organic substances. The laboratory experiments aim to instruct the basic knowledge of the fundamental purification techniques (crystallization, distillation and chromatography), the separation (extraction) and the reactivity of organic compounds.

At the end of the course the student will acquire the knowledge related to the structure and chemical-physical properties of the main classes of organic compounds. He will be able to utilize the concepts of polar covalent bonding, hybridization, sigma and pi-Greek bond, isomerism, and resonance for the identification of the arrangement of the molecules in space, for the recognition of the presented functional groups and for the assignment of the IUPAC name. He will be able to critically analyze organic molecules on the basis of their structure, to recognizing their acidity/basicity, nucleophilicity/electrophilicity and understanding their reactivity based on their structure and the environment in which they are found. Furthermore, the student will acquire the knowledge related to the mechanisms of the chemical reactions. This ability will be developed by exercises in the classroom thanks also to the discussion between students and the professor during the course. The students will have to acquire the ability to use a vocabulary and terminology related to Organic Chemistry in order to transmit and apply their knowledge. The laboratory experiments will allow the student to be able to perform standard laboratory procedures and use instruments for organic synthesis.