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Organic Structure and Reactivity

CHEM3111

The structure and shape of organic molecules determines their physical properties, their reaction chemistry as well as their biological/medicinal activity. The determination of this structure and understanding its chemical consequences is of fundamental importance in chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal and materials chemistry. This course examines the methods and techniques used to establish the structure of organic molecules as well as the chemistry which dictates the shapes that they adopt. The first part of the course examines the use of modern spectroscopic methods (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy) which are used routinely to identify organic compounds. The second part of the course examines the chemical consequences of molecular shapes in more depth and looks at the inter-relationship between molecular shape and the processes by which bonds are made and broken (the reaction mechanism). An understanding of these processes allows the outcome of reactions to be predicted, which is an essential tool enabling the construction of complex molecules from simple starting materials.

Unit of study details

Unit of study level: Senior

Credit points: 6

Commencing semesters: 1

Further unit of study information

Unit of study handbook: CHEM3111

Costs and scholarships information: Costs and Scholarships

Final dates to withdraw from units of study: Census Dates

Available for study abroad and exchange: Yes

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