Prerequisites for CHEM 230, Organic Chemistry I

 The prerequisite for CHEM 230, Organic Chemistry I, is successful completion of both CHEM 120 and CHEM 121, General Chemistry I and II. Courses transferred from other schools will be accepted, provided that they are equivalent to CHEM 120 and CHEM 121.  The department’s undergraduate advisor must make final approval for any transfer equivalency, unless a formal articulation agreement exists between MSU and the other institution for the specific course, or courses in question.  Any doubts or questions about transfers of chemistry courses should be addressed to this department’s undergraduate advisor.

 Students who register for CHEM 230, Organic Chemistry I, need to have a basic understanding of the chemical concepts listed below.  All of these concepts are covered in General Chemistry I and II.

-atomic structure, with emphasis upon orbital and electron configurations.
-the nature of the Schroedinger equation.
-chemical bonding:  ionic and covalent bonds.
-Lewis structures, and Kekule (line) drawings.
-electron affinity, electronegativity, and the polar covalent bond.
-nonbonding and bonding electrons
-calculation of formal charge
-valence bond theory.
-sigma and pi bonds.
-bond strength and bond length.
-molecular orbital theory, bonding and antibonding MO’s.
-hybrid orbitals of carbon: SP3, SP2, and SP
-geometry of hybridized carbon in relation to VSEPR.
-hybridization of N, O, and B.