A Hierarchical Structure for an Organic Chemistry Course

Jef Struyf^1,

¹A retired instructor of the Health and Technology Department, Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven (KHLeuven), Belgium

Cite this paper

Jef Struyf. A Hierarchical Structure for an Organic Chemistry Course. World Journal of Chemical Education. 2015; 3(2):51-58. doi: 10.12691/WJCE-3-2-5

Abstract

A teaching approach is proposed inspired by the hierarchical structure of the neon electron configuration. The course material is organized into analogous hierarchical 1s (molecular structure and physical properties), 2s (oxidation level based reaction schemes and acid-base) and 2p (three pairs of reaction mechanisms) course modules. The connection between acid-base and oxidation-reduction in organic chemistry is made clearer. General options, instructor’s knowledge structure, building on prior knowledge, educational success, the value of the approach and the support from the educational research are discussed.

Keywords

organic chemistry, second-year undergraduate, course structure, analogies, acid-base, functional groups, neon, electron configuration, oxidation-reduction, oxidation level, reactions, mechanisms of reactions, mnemonics, physical properties

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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