Organic Chemistry   Have you Got It?

Challenging video quizzes and explanations covering
a few of the essential concepts of organic chemistry

presented by Prof. Robert M. Hanson St. Olaf College

At the start of the 2020-21 academic year, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, St. Olaf College was just coming back to in-person learning, with the added need to reach students who might be quarantined or otherwise isolated. I was faced with the daunting challenge of teaching organic chemistry in this context and needed to find a way to introduce a more asynchronous no-stakes way of checking in with my organic chemistry students. Having no idea of the amount of energy it would take to do this, I hit on the idea of a series of "video quizzes"ťthat could be used by students asynchronously and totally on their own to see if they were ready to move forward with an organic topic.

The result was this set of 25 videos that has been a huge hit with my students at St. Olaf. Each quiz consists of just two or three questions. The student is asked to pause the video, try to solve a problem, and then continue. I then explain how I would solve the problem. The set is by no means a complete -- just what I could do at the start of the semester, after which point I was overwhelmed by all the other responsibilities I had that term. So, they are what they are. I offer them now free for the taking, all on YouTube. I hope you find them useful.

This site is dedicated to all my colleagues and students who suffered through that terrifying year and especially to those who rose to the occasion to innovate and find their own unique solutions to the challenges of teaching and learning during the COVID pandemic. Bravo! Thank you all!

Bob Hanson, August 2022

Part 1: Structures and Properties

Interpreting and Writing Skeletal Structures

Drawing and Evaluating Resonance Contributors

Electronegativity, Electron Density, and Polarity

Acidity Comparison Based On Electronegativity And Electron Density

Predicting the Favorability of Acid-Base Reactions

The Relationship Between pKa and pH - Extraction Using a Separatory Funnel

Functional Groups

Physical Properties of Organic Compounds - Intermolecular Forces and Boiling Points

Physical Properties of Organic Compounds - Solvent Polarity and Solubility


Part 2: Nomenclature and 3D Structure

Hydrocarbons

Alkane Nomenclature

Conformations of Ethane and Butane

Conformations of Cyclohexane

Constitutional and Configurational Isomers, Stereocenters and Stereoisomers

R and S Stereochemical Descriptors

Diasteromers and Meso Compounds

Optical Rotation and Enantiomeric Excess


Part 3: Spectroscopy

Essential NMR Theory

NMR Chemical Shift

NMR Integration And Coupling

Solving Spectroscopy Problems Using the “Puzzle Box” Method – 1H NMR

Interpreting 13C NMR Spectra

Interpreting Infrared Spectra

Mass Spectrometry


Part 4: Reaction Selectivity

Selectivity in Diels-Alder Reactions