Fundamental Organic Chemistry

A one-semester organic chemistry course that provides a chemical foundation to understanding biological processes. Organic compounds are built on carbon frameworks and are the principal chemical class in all biological organisms. We will learn what these frameworks look like, how they are bonded and how they are affected by small arrangements of select elements, collectively known as ‘functional groups.’ Paying particular attention to functional groups and their reactions that are pertinent to biology, we will look at alkanes, alkyl halides, acids, bases, carbonyl compounds, and the mechanisms of their reactions. Included in these discussions will be amino acids and proteins.