NMR spectroscopy is a versatile and powerful teaching tool for connecting and engaging organic chemistry students with the molecular world and its operative principles. This presentation will describe experiments where H-1, C-13, and F-19 NMR have been used to introduce students to a wide range of molecular topics. Inquiry-based experiments will be described in which the quantitative features of NMR are exploited to introduce students to experimental design, reaction kinetics, reaction mechanisms, and product mixture analyses. In these experiments the results obtained by students represent the basis upon which further learning occurs to the end that students become participants in their learning rather than passive recipients. Such experiments demonstrate how scientific understanding advances from a process of hypothesis creation and testing. Some experiments to be described involve performing chemical reactions in NMR tubes. These microscale experiments represent a safe, efficient, inexpensive, and effective means for introducing students to the principles of chemical reactivity and experimental design.

Incorporation of NMR spectroscopy in the introductory organic chemistry laboratory course as an effective means for promoting student active learning

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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