Review bonding, VSEPR, molecular orbitals, and bond polarity

Tip: review atomic orbital hybridization: sp, sp², sp³

Review trends in isoelectronic ion sizes (why?) and electronegativities (critical for the reaction chemistry we'll discuss!)

Also review molecular orbitals and bond polarity

Why should I care about organic chemistry?

Professor Jeanne Hardy & Nina Theis will explain the role of organic chemistry and biochemistry in plant and soil science and in the development of new drugs. View the lecture on line. Also check out a You Tube video she referred to.

Why should I care about organic chemistry?

Professor Joe Jerry, undergraduate program director for the Animal Science program at UMass, will explain why an understanding of organic chemistry and biochemistry is critical to students in this and related majors.

See structures of fatty acids at our own site. Scroll to the bottom. How many double bonds does arachidonic acid have?
Read about trans fats - why they're used and why they're bad. Is arachidonic acid a trans fat?

The amino acid Phe is 'benzen on a stick'!

Download PRS questions and answers

Download PRS questions and answers

Many aldehydes and ketones have pleasant odors and occur in natural and synthetic flavors.

Download PRS questions and answers

Download PRS.

Sugar dangers - Someone raised the question of whether sorbitol was dangerous to pets. A quick search reveals that xylitol (a different sugar) does appear to cause insulin spikes in at least some pets, even though it is perfectly safe for humans. This likely reflects subtle differences in our metabolisms.
Sorbitol does seem to cause stomach bloating in some people. Aspartame (see also here) has been blamed for hundreds of problems, some perhaps correctly, some not.
This raises a more general question - whom do you believe ("I ate xxx and it turned me into a newt!")? Although not associated with any chemistry group, I like snopes.com. Check it out.

Download PRS

Download preliminary lecture notes (big!) - covers all of this week.

Download lecture material. Also see a nice animation regarding fatty acid catabolism. New cancer treatment turns on mitochondria

Download lecture material. Also see a nice animation regarding fatty acid catabolism. New cancer treatment turns on mitochondria. See also a movie about "the fate of fat" in our bodies.

Download lecture material. Play with CRABP in 3D - rotate, zoom, spin!

Download lecture material. A number of groups in the Chemistry Dept at UMass study the mechanism of enzymes. A new member of the Dept, Jeanne Hardy, aims to create new allosteric regulation sites in enzymes. Mike Knapp and Mike Maroney study redox enzymes. Yours truly studies the enzyme that makes RNA.

Download lecture material. Read about teenage mood swing receptors. Another article also appears in Scientific American.

Download PRS review material.

Download lecture material. Start exploring DNA with our 3D DNA Tutor. Then play with DNA in three dimensions! (Hint: start out with standard "B-form" DNA).

Download lecture material. Download printable sheets of bases and amino acids. Cut them out and play with them at home. How many good "twofer" or better interactions can you make? Hint: page two of this PDF contains the molecules with their lone pairs drawn. Make sure that the lone pair electrons overlap well with the donor hydrogens!

Start exploring DNA with our 3D DNA Tutor. Then play with DNA in three dimensions! (Hint: start out with standard "B-form" DNA).

Download lecture material. A recent paper in Plant Cell talks about transcription factors controlling the formation of secondary walls in woody plant tissues.

Genetic engineering troubles
Detection of specific bacteria in the field