Courses tagged with "Taking derivatives" (66)

This course is a continuation of CHEM103 [1]: Organic Chemistry I.  As you progress through the units below, you will continue to learn the different chemical reactions characteristic of each family of organic compounds.  We will focus on the four most important classes of reactions: electrophilic substitution at aromatic rings, nucleophilic addition at carbonyl compounds, hydrolysis of carboxylic acids, and carbon-carbon bond formation using enolates.  The enolate portion of this course will cover the reactivity of functional groups. We will also look at synthetic strategies for making simple, small organic molecules, using the knowledge of organic chemistry accumulated thus far.  At the end of this course, you will possess the tools you need to plan the synthesis of fairly complicated molecules, like those used in pharmaceutics.  From the perspective of a synthetic organic chemist, the two most challenging aspects of synthesizing drug molecules are the incorporation of  "molecular rings" (rings of 5…

Physical Chemistry II is quite different from Physical Chemistry I.  In this second semester of the Physical Chemistry course, you will study the principles and laws of quantum mechanics as well as the interaction between matter and electromagnetic waves.  During the late 19th century and early 20th century, scientists opened new frontiers in the understanding of matter at the molecular, atomic, and sub-atomic scale.  These studies resulted in the development of quantum physics, which nowadays is still considered one of the greatest achievements of human mind.  While present day quantum physics “zooms in” to look at subatomic particles, quantum chemistry “zooms out” to look at large molecular systems in order to theoretically understand their physical and chemical properties.  Quantum chemistry has created certain “tools” (or computational methods) based on the laws of quantum mechanics that make it theoretically possible to understand how electrons and atomic nuclei interact with each other…

Inorganic chemistry is a division of chemistry that studies metals, their compounds, and their reactivity.  Metal atoms can be bound to other metal atoms in alloys or metal clusters, to nonmetal elements in crystalline rocks, or to small organic molecules, such as a cyclopentadienyl anion in ferrocene.  These metal atoms can also be part of large biological molecules, as in the case of iron in hemoglobin (oxygen-carrier protein in the blood). In this course, you should not think of metals as you encounter them in your daily life (i.e., when you pick up a steel knife, a can of soda, or a gold necklace).  Instead, you should think of a metal as the central atom or ion in a molecule surrounded by other ions or small molecules called ligands.  Depending on what these ligands are, the metal-containing compound can acquire very different physical and chemical properties.  For example, when magnesium (in its ionic state) is bound to carbonate ions, it forms solid crystalline rocks, as in the dolomite rocks (c…

Analytical chemistry is the branch of chemistry dealing with measurement, both qualitative and quantitative.  This discipline is also concerned with the chemical composition of samples.  In the field, analytical chemistry is applied when detecting the presence and determining the quantities of chemical compounds, such as lead in water samples or arsenic in tissue samples.  It also encompasses many different spectrochemical techniques, all of which are used under various experimental conditions.  This branch of chemistry teaches the general theories behind the use of each instrument as well analysis of experimental data. This course begins with a review of general chemistry and an introduction to analytical terminology.  You will learn terms relevant to the process of measuring chemical compounds, such as sensitivity and detection limit.  The course continues with a unit on common spectrochemical methods, followed by an extension of these methods in a unit on atomic spectroscopy.  These methods allow…

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and compounds, such as cellular makeup, that bring about life in organisms.  It is a combination of multiple science fields; you can think of it as general and cell biology coupled with organic and general chemistry.  Although living organisms are very complex, from a molecular view, the material that constitutes “life” can be broken down into remarkably simple molecules, much like the breakdown of our English language to the English alphabet.  Although there exists thousands upon thousands of molecules, they all breakdown into four core components: nucleic acids, amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates.  As we can make hundreds of thousands of words from just 26 letters, we can make thousands of different biomolecules from those 4 components.  For example, the human genome, containing the necessary information to create a human being, is really just one very long strand of 4 different nucleotides. This course is structured around that approach, so…

Remember that organic chemistry is the discipline that studies the properties and reactions of organic, carbon-based compounds.  This course is intended to be taken after the first two semesters of organic chemistry.  Many of the topics within this outline have been covered in the first two semesters of organic chemistry; however, this course will explore these topics in much greater depth.  It is important to make sure that you have a good grasp of the concepts from earlier organic chemistry courses before moving on to this course. We begin by studying a unit on ylides, benzyne, and free radicals.  Many free radicals affect life processes.  For example, oxygen-derived radicals may be overproduced in cells, such as white blood cells that try to defend against infection in a living organism.  In the first unit, you will learn about free radicals, including oxygen-containing compounds.  Afterward we move into a comprehensive examination of stereochemistry, as well as the kinetics of substitution and el…

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry is designed to give you the knowledge to explain everyday phenomena of inorganic complexes. You will study the various aspects of their physical and chemical properties and learn how to determine the practical applications that these complexes can have in industrial, analytical, and medicinal chemistry. This course will begin with the discussion of symmetry and point group theory and its applications in the field of vibrational spectroscopy. We will then study molecular orbital (MO) theory specifically applied to metal organic complexes. MO theory will be critical in understanding the following: 1) the relative position of ligands in the spectrochemical series, 2) the electronic transitions and related selection rules, and 3) the application of spectroscopy of metals. The course will then move onto the study of the oxidation states of transition metals and their redox properties. A firm grasp of the chemical redox properties of transition metals is critical to understanding thei…

Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation.  Molecules respond to different types of radiation in different ways, depending on the frequency (?) or wavelength (?) of the radiation.  In General Chemistry, we studied spectroscopy as a tool for explaining the quantum mechanical model of the atom.  In that course, we learned that light is an electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye.  We also learned that light, which exists in tiny “packets” called photons, exhibits properties of both waves and particles, a characteristic referred to as the wave-particle duality.  The quantized relationship is defined as E = hv, where E is energy, h is Plank’s constant, and v is frequency. Spectroscopy and spectrometry are often used in chemistry for the identification of substances through the spectrum from which they are emitted or by which they are absorbed.  The type of spectroscopic technique is defined by the type of radia…

In this course, we will look at the properties behind the basic concepts of probability and statistics and focus on applications of statistical knowledge.  We will learn how statistics and probability work together.  The subject of statistics involves the study of methods for collecting, summarizing, and interpreting data.  Statistics formalizes the process of making decisionsand this course is designed to help you cultivate statistic literacy so that you can use this knowledge to make better decisions.  Note that this course has applications in sciences, economics, computer science, finance, psychology, sociology, criminology, and many other fields. Every day, we read articles and reports in print or online.  After finishing this course, you should be comfortable asking yourself whether the articles make sense.  You will be able to extract information from the articles and display that information effectively.  You will also be able to understand the basics of how to draw statistical conclusions.

This Research Methods course is part one of the two-part Research Methods series, which also includes the Research Methods Lab course. Research is the foundation on which any solid science is built. This course will introduce you to research methodologies frequently used in the social sciences and especially those used in the field of psychology. It is important that you are able to not only identify the techniques used by others but also employ them yourself. The course is designed to provide you with the foundation you will need to apply certain techniques in the search for your own answers. The course will begin with an overview of how research, and its appropriate methodology, came about in science and, more specifically, psychology. We will then go over the ABCs of conducting research, learning how to define “variables” and why they are important. While this course will also touch upon statistics and their importance, it will not require a comprehensive knowledge of the subject. The course will concl…

This Research Methods Lab course is part two of the Research Methods series. You should not attempt this course without having first completed the Research Methods course (PSYCH202A [1]). This Lab extends beyond the basics of research methodology and the logic of experimental design, concepts you learned in PSYCH202A [2].  You will learn to put these concepts into practice while conducting laboratory experiments. While we may not explicitly apply all of the concepts introduced in the Research Methods lecture course, remember that each of them will remain relevant during the evaluation and review phases of your research. This course intends to acquaint the student with a variety of different research techniques.  Students will participate in every stage of experimentation, from creation and editing to evaluation and review.   As such, this course will not only review relevant concepts from the Research Methods lecture, but will also broach a number of practical matters, including the standard organizatio…

This introductory course in biology starts at the microscopic level, with molecules and cells.  Before we get into the specifics of cell structure and behavior, however, let’s take a cursory glance at the field of biology more generally.  Though biology as we know it today is a relatively new field, we have been studying living things since the beginning of recorded history.  The invention of the microscope was the turning point in the history of biology; it paved the way for scientists to discover bacteria and other tiny organisms, and ultimately led to the modern cell theory of biology. You will notice that, unlike the core program courses you took in chemistry and physics, introductory biology does not have many mathematical “laws” and “rules” and does not require much math.  Instead, you will learn a great number of new terms and concepts that will help you describe life at the smallest level.  Over the course of this semester, you will recognize the ways in which the tiniest of molecules…

In BIO101 [1], you were introduced to biology on a microscopic scale when you learned about the functions of molecules, genes, and cells.  In this course, you will learn about biological changes that happen on a very large scale, across entire populations of organisms and over the course of millions of years, in the form of evolution and ecology.  Evolution, the process by which different species of organisms have developed and diversified from earlier forms, has been a central theme in the field of biology ever since Darwin first published his theories about it.  Mounting evidence from many different branches of science all point to the fact that species have experienced a gradual but definite physical change.  In this course, we will learn about evolution and theories that stem from evolution. We will also learn about ecology, the study of the interactions between different types of organisms and their surroundings.  Changes in surroundings will force organisms to adapt and changeoften in terms of th…

DISCLAIMER: This course is designed to address the fundamentals of clinical psychology. It will NOT provide the education or experience needed for the diagnosing and treating of mental disorders. This course will cover the basic concepts of clinical psychology, or the study of diagnosing, treating, and understanding abnormal and maladaptive behaviors. We frequently refer to these behaviorswhich include depression, anxiety, and schizophreniaas mental diseases or disorders. While you might have a general understanding of these disorders, this course will cover each in great detail. Many of you are likely familiar with the idea of therapy, whether because you or someone you know has been in therapy, or because you have seen it in popular TV shows or movies. Because many approaches to therapy draw from research on clinical populationsthat is, populations suffering from some sort of mental disordertherapy is closely related to the field of psychopathology. Although this class will not teach you how to cond…

Developmental psychology concerns itself with the changes (psychological and otherwise) that occur as a result of our physical and mental maturation. Typically, “development” refers to the systematic changes that take place between our conception and death. While this definition may seem quite broad, it will serve as a good starting point in our quest to understand the field of developmental psychology. The first thing we must realize as developmental psychologists is that our change is systematic. This means that the process by which we grow and mature over time is not defined by random, isolated events but by orderly and relatively long-term patterns. This also means that while individuals themselves may differ quite a bit, the developmental patterns that they undergo are similar. These concepts are crucial in that they allow us, as psychologists, to study the way in which people develop and to make predictions about the future based on that development. Developmental psychologists study both continuiti…

This course will introduce you to the major concepts of and debates surrounding industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and organizational psychology is the application of psychological research and theory to human interaction (both with other humans and with human factors, or machines and computers) in the workplace. The phrase “industrial and organizational psychology” (sometimes referred to as “I/O”) may be somewhat misleading, as the field deals less with actual organizations and/or industries and more with the people in these areas. As mentioned above, “I/O” is an applied psychological science, which means that it takes research findings and theories that may have originally been used to explain a general phenomenon of human behavior and applies them to human behavior in a specific setting (here, the workplace). Consider, for example, the fact that many jobs require applicants to take a personality test. Psychologists originally developed this test to detect and diagnose abnorm…

This course introduces learners to the principles of learning and behavior by surveying relevant theoretical and empirical approaches within psychology.  The overall emphasis is on the theoretical foundations of psychology as they relate to human learning and behavior.   The following topics will be reviewed: historical perspectives of early learning theories, prevailing theories of human development, classical and operant conditioning, effects stimuli have on learning and behavior, social learning, motivation, cognitive developmental theory in the context of learning stages and processes, memory and human information processing models, and problem-solving methods.  Understanding these human processes is an integral part of psychology and other domains of human behavior, such as marketing, sports, health, education and relationships. Learning theories are an outgrowth from philosophies of thought.  The philosophical approaches of rationalism and empiricism, and the works of Plato and Descarte form the…

Sensation and perception are the processes by which we absorb information from environmental stimuli and convert it into data that our brains and bodies use to modify behavior. This course will introduce you to these two closely related, though distinct, processes. We will begin with sensation, the physical process by which we use our sense organs (i.e. tongues for taste or noses for smell) to respond to the environmental stimuli around us. Perception, on the other hand, refers to our interpretation of stimuli. It occurs through cognitive processing and enables us to use information in order to change our behavior. While these processes may seem simple, they are just the opposite: large portions of the brain are devoted to the seemingly straightforward processes of seeing and hearing, and entire sensory organs have developed in order to facilitate them. Further, while the brain is constantly using the information it gathers to make decisions, we are entirely unaware of this activity. Unbelievably, studying il…

How does the brain function? How does it interact with the body in order to control and mediate behaviors and actions? Though psychologists have long studied these questions, the workings of the brain remain, in large part, a mystery. In this course, we will explore the field of psychology devoted to the pursuit of these questions: neuropsychology or the study of the structure and function of the brain as it relates to psychological processes. We will study significant findings in the field, noting that technological improvements have often enabled substantial advancements in field research. You may, for example, take MRIs or PET scans  devices used to diagnose medical problems  for granted, but these have only relatively recently enabled researchers to study the brain in greater detail. While a formal background in biology is not required for this course, you will find that neuropsychology relies heavily on the discipline. In fact, psychologists and biologists have often explored similar issues, though t…

This course will introduce you to the psychology behind gender and sexuality, or the study of the different ways our gender roles and sexual identities impact our lives. Although the terms “gender” and “sex” are often used synonymously in everyday speech, this course will assign the terms two different meanings. “Sex” refers to biological differencei.e. whether you are a female or male from a biological standpoint. “Gender” refers to the social and psychological attributes that come along with one’s sex. Though these terms are similar and relate to one another, there is a distinct difference between the two that you should recognize for the purposes of this course. In this course, we will take a look at how our understanding of our own gender and sex can affect different aspects of our functioning, while also identifying the factors in our lives that can impact our gender and sex. While we often assume we know a lot about how gender affects our lives and the lives of the opposite gender, t…