Policy Statement:
Your grade in this course will be based on a mid-term exam (30%), a final exam (35%) and homework assignments (35%). Both of the exams will have substantial "take home" portions. Part of the homework will consist of a quarter long project in which each student picks a chemical problem to investigate computationally, carries out a number of calculations and reports the results in the form of a paper written in the style of an ACS journal.
Each student must have an e-mail address and an account on
the University Mallard Computer. We shall give each student an
account on the Chemistry Department SGI computer and the Alabama
Super Computer. You will be required to submit some homework answers
to me by e-mail and I shall communicate with you by e-mail.
Class attendance is extremely important. Since there is no
textbook for this course, class notes are extremely important. You
will be responsible for all material covered in class. I have placed
a number of books on reserve in the library. These will be used to
complement the lectures. I would like to conduct the class in a
highly informal manner. You are encouraged to ask questions and
participate in class discussions. Questions by e-mail are also
welcome. This course will be taught assuming that students have a
basic understanding of the following topics: Thermodynamics,
Kinetics, Organic Nomenclature, Organic Reactions, Spectroscopy and
Stereochemistry. This knowledge need not be any deeper than is
required to master undergraduate courses covering the above
topics.
As stated in the Tiger Cub, students are expected to complete
their work with honesty and integrity. You may discuss homework and
take home tests with others in general terms. You may not obtain
specific answers from others or work with others to obtain these
answers.