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Foundations of Organic Chemistry

Season 1
Every living thing on Earth uses carbon as a basic building block. Yet organic chemistry - the study of carbon-containing matter - is feared by many interested learners. Making this field relevant and graspable is the forte of Professor Davis. Combining years of classroom and lab experience, he’s crafted vibrantly illustrated lectures designed for everyone.
201436 episodes7+
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Why Carbon?
    September 25, 2014
    34min
    TV-PG
    Start exploring organic chemistry's foundations with a review of the basic science of chemistry (including atomic structure and the periodic table). Then, get an engaging introduction to organic chemistry: its origin, its evolution, its relationship to carbon, and its fascinating applications in everything from food to fuel to medicine. #Science & Mathematics
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  2. S1 E2 - Structure of the Atom and Chemical Bonding
    September 25, 2014
    35min
    TV-PG
    Take a more detailed look at atomic structure and chemical bonding. What exactly drives an atom's desire to bond? What are the differences between ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and polar covalent bonds? How does the hybridization of atomic orbitals work, and how does it explain the complex geometries of carbon frameworks?
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  3. S1 E3 - Drawing Chemical Structures
    September 25, 2014
    31min
    TV-PG
    Investigate some of the key methods scientists employ to communicate the right structural information about molecular compounds, including their identity, the ratio of elements that comprise them, and their connectivity. Explore Fischer projections, Newman projections, and stereoimages - all of which help us overcome the challenges of conveying the three-dimensional positions of atoms.
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  4. S1 E4 - Drawing Chemical Reactions
    September 25, 2014
    31min
    TV-PG
    You've learned how to depict molecules as they exist at a single point in time. How about as time passes? The answer: much like a cartoonist. Here, learn about this scientific art form, including writing reaction schemes, expanding them into elementary steps, using curved arrows to chart molecular progress, and more.
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  5. S1 E5 - Acid-Base Chemistry
    September 25, 2014
    30min
    TV-PG
    Focus on the first of several fundamental classes of reactions you'll encounter throughout this course: the proton transfer reaction. You'll learn the three classifications of acids and bases; the Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and Lewis definitions; how chemists predict proton transfer reaction outcomes; two kinds of intramolecular proton transfer reactions; and more.
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  6. S1 E6 - Stereochemistry - Molecular Handedness
    September 25, 2014
    29min
    TV-PG
    Make sense of a crucial concept in organic chemistry: the handedness of molecules, or, as chemists call it, "chirality." Topics include the definition of chiral tetrahedral centers; the creation of stereoisomer sets via inversion of handedness; and intriguing examples of stereoisomers (including enantiomers and double-bonded stereoisomers) and their unique chiral centers.
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  7. S1 E7 - Alkanes - The Simplest Hydrocarbons
    September 25, 2014
    34min
    TV-PG
    Start examining various classes of organic compounds with alkanes, whose hydrocarbons consist entirely of hydrogen and carbon. How can a few simple carbon atoms lead to millions of possible alkane structures? How does structure affect their physical properties? And what curious role did they play in 19th-century whaling?
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  8. S1 E8 - Cyclic Alkanes
    September 25, 2014
    31min
    TV-PG
    Turn now to cyclic alkanes, in which the closing of a loop of carbons forms a whole new class of alkanes with properties all their own. As you learn more about this new class of hydrocarbons, you'll cover the phenomenon of ring strain, the equilibrium between chair conformers, and bicyclic hydrocarbons.
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  9. S1 E9 - Alkenes and Alkynes
    September 25, 2014
    35min
    TV-PG
    How can pi bonds change the chemistry of hydrocarbons? How did one of the greatest rivalries in chemistry lead to an understanding of trends in stability among regio- and stereoisomers with the same molecular formula? Why do terminal alkynes have such unusual acidity? Professor Davis has the answers to these and other questions.
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  10. S1 E10 - Alkyl Halides
    September 25, 2014
    33min
    TV-PG
    Explore alkyl halides, hydrocarbons where one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by a halogen atom. You'll examine how larger halogen atoms decrease the volatility of alkyl halides compared to their alkane counterparts (which radically changed the science of refrigeration). You'll also learn about the reactivity of alkyl halides and the phenomenon of carbocation rearrangements.
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  11. S1 E11 - Substitution Reactions
    September 25, 2014
    32min
    TV-PG
    Investigate substitution reactions: one of the fundamental mechanisms by which one compound becomes another. The simple molecules you've encountered so far can be altered in targeted ways and once you understand how these reactions work, Professor Davis says you've reached "a palpable threshold in the study of organic chemistry."
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  12. S1 E12 - Elimination Reactions
    September 25, 2014
    28min
    TV-PG
    Cover the second class of organic reaction: eliminations, the primary method for producing alkenes. As you'll learn, elimination reactions proceed with the production of a byproduct formed by the leaving group; in contrast to substitution reactions, they involve a significant increase in entropy because they make more molecules than they consume.
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  13. S1 E13 - Addition Reactions
    September 25, 2014
    32min
    TV-PG
    Complete your mastery of the trifecta of fundamental organic reactions with a lecture on addition, which adds new groups to unsaturated molecules by sacrificing pi bonds for more stable sigma bonds. You'll explore the basics of addition reactions; the hydrogenation of alkenes and alkines; the ways addition has helped create food additives; and much more.
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  14. S1 E14 - Alcohols and Ethers
    September 25, 2014
    34min
    TV-PG
    In this lecture, consider the important role of oxygen in organic chemistry. Among the topics you'll learn about here: the oxygen atom in sp3 hybridization states; techniques for synthesizing alcohols and ethers; and methods for activating alcohols into more reactive leaving groups (specifically sulfonate esters, phosphinate esters, and tosylates).
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  15. S1 E15 - Aldehydes and Ketones
    September 25, 2014
    32min
    TV-PG
    Continue exploring oxygen's role in organic chemistry. Here, Professor Davis introduces you to the properties and reactivity of two simple carbonyl compounds: aldehydes and ketones. What do we know about these oxygen-containing compounds and their chemistry? And what's their curious connection with how you feel after a night of heavy drinking?
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  16. S1 E16 - Organic Acids and Esters
    September 25, 2014
    35min
    TV-PG
    Carboxylic acids and esters are two oxygen-containing compounds that possess multiple oxygen atoms with different hybridization states. First, look at two ways to prepare carboxylic acids. Then, examine how Fischer esterification produces esters. Finally, learn about retrosynthetic analysis, a tool that helps organic chemists address synthetic challenges.
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  17. S1 E17 - Amines, Imines, and Nitriles
    September 25, 2014
    30min
    TV-PG
    Turn now to nitrogen, which has played an important role in the chemistry of life since it began. Learn the chemistry of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines, the simplest of nitrogen-containing compounds. Also, consider imines (containing a pi-bond to nitrogen) and nitriles (where two pi bonds are present), including the simplest and most well-known nitrile: hydrogen cyanide.
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  18. S1 E18 - Nitrates, Amino Acids, and Amides
    September 25, 2014
    27min
    TV-PG
    Nitroglycerine, dynamite, TNT. What do these explosives have in common? They all contain highly reactive compounds that combine nitrogen and oxygen in organics. Look closely at these and other materials in this in-depth lecture on functional groups containing nitrogen and oxygen that covers everything from nitrate esters to trinitrotoluene to amino acids.
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  19. S1 E19 - Conjugation and the Diels-Alder Reaction
    September 25, 2014
    31min
    TV-PG
    Start by examining the phenomenon of conjugation involving multiple, resonating pi bonds and the extra stability that they endow on organic compounds. Then, explore two reactions (including one that resulted in a Nobel Prize) involved in conjugated diene reactivity. Finally, spend some time investigating the relationship between frontier molecular orbits and thermally activated reactions.
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  20. S1 E20 - Benzene and Aromatic Compounds
    September 25, 2014
    29min
    TV-PG
    Get better acquainted with benzene and a class of compounds known as aromatics, as well as the role aromaticity plays in dictating the acid-base properties of organics. Also, learn about polynuclear aromatics, buckminsterfullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and carbon fibers - all at the forefront of cutting-edge research going on in labs around the world.
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  21. S1 E21 - Modifying Benzene - Aromatic Substitution
    September 25, 2014
    30min
    TV-PG
    Build on your understanding of aromatics by investigating a very useful class of reactions: electrophilic aromatic substitution. What's the general mechanism by which these reactions occur? What are some of the many modifications chemists can make to benzene? What role did this reaction play in the synthesis of one of the most infamous organic compounds of all time, DDT?
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  22. S1 E22 - Sugars and Carbohydrates
    September 25, 2014
    31min
    TV-PG
    Start taking a more biologically oriented look at the foundations of organic chemistry by investigating compounds known as carbohydrates. Examine Fischer projections of their two main classes, aldoses and ketoses; learn how cyclic sugars help create disaccharides and polysaccharides used in everything from fruit preserves to body armor; and more.
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  23. S1 E23 - DNA and Nucleic Acids
    September 25, 2014
    30min
    TV-PG
    Professor Davis introduces you to ribose, the central component of both RNA and DNA. Starting from individual molecules and motifs, you'll progressively work your way up toward a full model for the structure of the sub-units involved in our genetic code. This lecture is proof of organic chemistry's powerful role in establishing who you are.
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  24. S1 E24 - Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
    September 25, 2014
    29min
    TV-PG
    Proteins make up 20 percent of your body's mass. They mediate almost every chemical reaction in the human body, and they're found in everything from medicine to detergents. Here, make sense of the intricate, beautiful structures and interactions of proteins. Also, take a peek at how they're created in labs for further study.
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  25. S1 E25 - Metals in Organic Chemistry
    September 25, 2014
    27min
    TV-PG
    Probe the connections between biology and metals with this lecture on some compounds and reactions in the field of organometallic chemistry. As you'll quickly learn, organometallics have a range of practical applications; one example you'll encounter is Dotarem, an organometallic compound used to help detect tumors in cancer patients.
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Details

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Subtitles
None available
Producers
The Great Courses
Cast
Ron B. Davis Jr.
Studio
The Great Courses
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