CHIMICA ORGANICA M - Z
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: GIUSEPPE FLORESTAExpected Learning Outcomes
This course aims to transmit to the student a good and solid grounding in the basic principles of organic chemistry through the study of the structure-function relationships of organic compounds, the chemistry of functional groups, and reactions of organic compounds, which are required for the successful completion of other courses of general background, such as pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology and biochemistry
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to know the structure and nomenclature of the principal functional groups of organic compounds, their chemistry and reactivity.
At the end of the course, the students will:
- Know and recall the fundamental principles of organic chemistry, including chemical bonding, nomenclature, structural isomerism, stereochemistry, chemical reactions and mechanisms.
- Name the functional groups and different classes of organic compounds.
- Recognize the basic practical skills for synthesising and analysing organic compounds.
- Predict the reactivity of an organic compound from its structure.
- Develop basic skills for the multi-step synthesis of organic compounds.
- Justify a reasonable mechanism for a chemical reaction.
Required Prerequisites
The students must know the fundamentals of General and Inorganic Chemistry and in particular:
Periodic table – Atomic structure and electronic configuration – Ionic and covalent bonds – Atomic and molecular orbitals – Valence bond theory – Structural formulas – Hybrid carbon, oxygen and nitrogen orbitals – Acids and bases, definitions of pKa and pH and equilibrium – Acidity and basicity according to Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis – Thermodynamics and kinetics – Values of ΔH - Catalysis.
The aforementioned topics can be found in the first chapters of any Organic Chemistry textbook.
Detailed Course Content
PART 1: An Introduction to the Study of Organic Chemistry
1. Remembering General Chemistry: Electronic Structure and Bonding
2. Acids and Bases: Central to Understanding Organic Chemistry
3. An Introduction to Organic Compounds: Nomenclature, Physical Properties, and Structure
PART 2: Electrophilic Addition Reactions, Stereochemistry, and Electron Delocalization
4. Isomers: The Arrangement of Atoms in Space
5. Alkenes: Structure, Nomenclature, and an Introduction to Reactivity
6. The Reactions of Alkenes – The Stereochemistry of Addition Reactions
7. The Reactions of Alkynes – An Introduction to Multistep Synthesis
8. Delocalized Electrons: Their Effect on Stability, pKa, and the Products of a Reaction – Aromaticity and Electronic Effects: An Introduction the Reactions of Benzene
PART 3: Substitution and Elimination Reactions
9. Substitution and Elimination Reactions of Alkyl Halides
10. Reactions of Alcohols, Ethers, Epoxides, Amines, and Sulfur-Containing Compounds
11. Organometallic Compounds
12. Radicals
PART 4: Carbonyl Compounds
15. Reactions of Carboxylic Acids and Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
16. Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones – More Reactions of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
17. Reactions at the α-Carbon
PART 5: Aromatic Compounds
18. Reactions of Benzene And Substituted Benzenes
19. Reactions of Amines
19/1. The Chemistry of Heteroaromatic Compounds
PART 6: Bioorganic Compounds
20. The Organic Chemistry of Carbohydrates
21. The Organic Chemistry of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
25. The Organic Chemistry of Lipids
26. The Organic Chemistry of Nucleic Acids
Textbook Information
| Autore | Titolo | Editore | Anno | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) P. Y. Bruice | Chimica Organica | EdiSES | III ed. 2017 | 9788879599351 |
| 2) L. G. Wade | Fondamenti di Chimica Organica | Piccin | VIII ed. 2014 | 9788829923007 |
| 3) J. Gorzynski Smith | Fondamenti di Chimica Organica | McGraw Hill | IV ed. 2023 | 9788838656576 |
| 4) N. E. Schore e P. C. Vollhardt | Esercizi risolti di Chimica Organica | Zanichelli | IV ed. 2016 | 9788808436900 |
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elementi di chimica generale: struttura elettronica e legame | 1) Bruice, cap. 1 |
| 2 | Acidi e basi: concetti fondamentali nella chimica organica | 1) Bruice, cap. 2 |
| 3 | Introduzione ai composti organici: nomenclatura, proprietà fisiche e struttura | 1) Bruice, cap. 3 |
| 4 | Isomeri: la disposizione degli atomi nello spazio | 1) Bruice, cap. 4 |
| 5 | Alcheni: struttura, nomenclatura e introduzione alla reattività - Termodinamica e cinetica | 1) Bruice, cap. 5 |
| 6 | Le reazioni degli alcheni - La stereochimica delle reazioni di addizione | 1) Bruice, cap. 6; 2) Wade, par. 8.5, 11.5 |
| 7 | Le reazioni degli alchini - Introduzione alle sintesi multistadio | 1) Bruice, cap. 7 |
| 8 | Delocalizzazione elettronica e suo effetto su stabilità, pk e prodotti di una reazione - Aromaticità, effetti elettronici e introduzione alle reazioni del benzene | 1) Bruice, cap. 8 |
| 9 | Reazioni di sostituzione e di eliminazione degli alogenuri alchilici | 1) Bruice, cap. 9 |
| 10 | Reazioni di alcoli, eteri, epossidi, ammine e composti contenenti zolfo | 1) Bruice, cap. 10 |
| 11 | Composti organometallici | 1) Bruice, cap. 11 |
| 12 | I radicali | 1) Bruice, cap. 12 |
| 13 | Reazioni degli Acidi Carbossilici e dei Derivati degli Acidi Carbossilici | 1) Bruice, cap. 15 |
| 14 | Le Reazioni di Aldeidi e Chetoni - Ulteriori Reazioni dei Derivati degli Acidi Carbossilici | 1) Bruice, cap. 16 |
| 15 | Le reazioni al carbonio α | 1) Bruice, cap. 17 |
| 16 | Reazioni del Benzene e dei Benzeni Sostituiti | 1) Bruice, cap. 18 |
| 17 | Ammine | 2) Wade, cap. 16 |
| 18 | La Chimica degli Eterocicli Aromatici | 2) Wade, par. 13.8, 13.16, 16.8 |
| 19 | La Chimica Organica dei Carboidrati | 1) Bruice, cap. 20 |
| 20 | La Chimica Organica di Amminoacidi, Peptidi e Proteine | 1) Bruice, cap. 21 |
| 21 | La Catalisi nelle Reazioni Organiche e nelle Reazioni Enzimatiche | 1) Bruice, cap. 22 |
| 22 | La chimica organica dei Lipidi | 1) Bruice, cap. 25 |
| 23 | La Chimica Organica degli Acidi Nucleici | 1) Bruice, cap. 26 |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
The level of acquisition of the educational objectives will be verified through a final exam consisting of a written test followed by an oral interview. Passing the written test with 18/30 is an essential condition for accessing the oral interview.
Booking for the exam is mandatory; it is active up to four days before the date reported in the exam calendar.
The written test (90 minutes) consists of 30 multiple choice questions (5 answers, only one exact – 1 pt. for correct, -0.25 for wrong and 0 for not given answer). It is to be held without the help of notes or a book and includes the entire program.
The written test will be passed with a minimum of 18/30.
The oral exam consists of a discussion (about 30 minutes), aimed at ascertaining the level of knowledge and understanding reached by the student regarding the theoretical and methodological contents indicated in the program; it will take place at least two days after the written test and the date will be communicated on the Department website, "news" section.
The final evaluation will be established based on the scores achieved in both tests. The oral exam is not aimed at raising the grade obtained in the written test but, with a negative result, it may result in rejection and the written test must be repeated.
As a result of special conditions, the verification of learning can also be carried out remotely.
For logistical reasons, the number of questions and the time required for their execution can be modified.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Sort the following compounds in order of increasing acidity.
Indicate among the following species the strongest nucleophile in a polar protic solvent.
Propose a mechanism for the following transformation.
Write the product and mechanism of the following reaction.
Complete the following reactions.
Describe the elongation of the chain of a monosaccharide.