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Spectra are mechanistic evidence in disguise
NMR and structure-determination problems reward students who connect signal patterns back to the same structural and electronic ideas learned in 307.
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01:160:308 · Chemistry · School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
Organic Chemistry II extends the first semester's mechanism toolkit into structure determination, organometallic synthesis, aromatic chemistry, carbonyl reactions, carboxylic-acid derivatives, enolate chemistry, conjugate addition, and biologically important molecules such as amino acids and proteins. In practice, it is the synthesis- and spectroscopy-heavy half of the Rutgers organic sequence.
How hard?
Students rate teaching
SIRS · 7,448 responses · 2014–2025
Spring 2027
20 open in snapshot · 5 instructors
When it meets
Busch, C/D
Checked-in sections · current seat counts are unavailable.
MW 3:50 PM · Busch, C/D · 10 sections · 10 open
TTh 5:40 PM · C/D, Busch · 6 sections · 6 open
MW 3:50 PM · Busch · 2 sections · 2 open
MW 3:50 PM · Busch, C/D · 2 sections · 2 open
MTh 8:30 AM · Busch · 1 section · 1 open
AI-generated overview
Higher means more demanding · AI summary
5 units · topic sequence may vary by instructor
Organic Chemistry II opens by teaching students how to infer structures from evidence rather than only predict products from reagents. Rutgers materials place proton and carbon NMR first, then push into multi-clue structure determination so spectral interpretation becomes part of everyday problem solving.
The next stage uses organometallic reagents and synthesis logic to build carbon-carbon bonds. This is where students start feeling the course shift from recognizing reactions toward choosing them intentionally and checking whether a plan is chemically compatible.
Aromatic chemistry introduces stability, substitution patterns, and directing effects in a system where reactions preserve aromaticity whenever possible. Students usually need to connect activation and deactivation ideas with regioselectivity rather than memorize isolated substitution products.
A large middle portion of 308 studies how carbonyl groups behave under nucleophilic attack and related addition-substitution chemistry. Rutgers materials pair these reactions with carbohydrate-related ideas, making the unit a bridge between core mechanism work and biomolecule applications.
The later part of the course broadens carbonyl chemistry into carboxylic-acid derivatives, enolate reactions, and conjugate addition, then connects those ideas to amino acids, peptides, and proteins. This stretch often feels like the synthesis capstone because students must track acidity, leaving-group ability, resonance, and carbon-carbon bond formation all at once.
Public Rutgers discussion tends to describe 308 as the semester where reaction organization and carryover from 307 become non-negotiable. Students frame it as doable, but only if they actively review old mechanisms, work recommended textbook problems, and use office hours or recitation before the course snowballs.
NMR and structure-determination problems reward students who connect signal patterns back to the same structural and electronic ideas learned in 307.
Much of 308 becomes easier when you see aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic-acid derivatives, and enolates as a connected family shaped by resonance and electrophilicity.
Choosing a reaction is not enough; you also have to ask whether the rest of the molecule survives those conditions and whether another route is shorter or cleaner.
The course uses first-semester substitution, elimination, and addition ideas as background tools while asking you to solve bigger structure-and-strategy problems.
Common pitfall
Instead
Practice small NMR interpretation sets regularly so structure determination becomes a habit rather than a last-minute exam topic.
Common pitfall
Instead
Keep a cumulative reaction notebook because synthesis and mechanism questions often assume the first-semester toolbox is still available.
Common pitfall
Instead
Track who is the nucleophile, who is the electrophile, what the leaving group is, and how resonance changes acidity or reactivity.
Common pitfall
Instead
Use recitation, office hours, and recommended homework early, especially when spectroscopy or carbonyl chapters first feel manageable.
20 open · Busch, C/D
| Section | Status | Instructor | Meeting | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2113920 | Open | Leslie Jimenez | Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Thursday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Monday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at CCB 1209CCB 1303CCB 1209 | Busch |
| 2213921 | Open | Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Thursday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at CCB 1209CCB 1303CCB 1209 | Busch | |
| 2313922 | Open | Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Thursday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at CCB 1303; Thursday 12:25 PM-1:20 PM at CCB 1209CCB 1303CCB 1209 | Busch | |
| 3113923 | Open | Kim-Phuong Le, Seema Sahni | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at SEC 202ARC 103SEC 202 | Busch |
| 3213924 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Monday 5:55 PM-6:50 PM at CCB 1303ARC 103CCB 1303 | Busch |
| 3313925 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Tuesday 7:45 PM-8:40 PM at CCB 1303ARC 103CCB 1303 | Busch |
| 3513926 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at SEC 202ARC 103SEC 202 | Busch |
| 3613927 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Monday 12:25 PM-1:20 PM at CCB 1209ARC 103CCB 1209 | Busch |
| 3713928 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 5:55 PM-6:50 PM at CCB 1203ARC 103CCB 1203 | Busch |
| 3913929 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 103; Wednesday 12:25 PM-1:20 PM at CCB 1203ARC 103CCB 1203 | Busch |
| 4113930 | Open | Seema Sahni, Hongmei Zhang | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at RAB 204HCK 138RAB 204 | C/D |
| 4213931 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Thursday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at RAB 207HCK 138RAB 207 | C/D |
| 4313932 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 8:45 AM-9:40 AM at HCK 119HCK 138HCK 119 | C/D |
| 4413933 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at FOR 138AHCK 138FOR 138A | C/D |
| 4513934 | Open | Kiranjot Sethi | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HCK 138; Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at FOR 138AHCK 138FOR 138A | C/D |
| 5213935 | Open | Hongmei Zhang, Kim-Phuong Le | Tuesday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at SEC 111; Thursday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at SEC 111; Wednesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at CCB 1203SEC 111CCB 1203 | Busch |
Historical student surveys
Teaching
3.84
Course quality
3.14
Response rate
28.7%
Coverage
187 offerings · 2014–2025
| Instructor | Offerings | Teaching | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullerton Denise | 19 | 4.49 | 3.99 |
| Kiranjot Sethi | 17 | 3.99 | 2.99 |
| Kim-Phuong Le | 15 | 3.94 | 2.68 |
| Jeehiun Lee | 13 | 4.24 | 3.69 |
| Heinz Roth | 12 | 2.03 | 2.05 |
| Emmanuel Hove | 9 | 3.61 | 2.73 |
Catalog and planning context
Credits
4
Current campuses
Busch, C/D
Current availability
20 open of 20
Catalog terms
Fall, Spring, Summer
Core codes
None listed
Loaded terms
6
(01:160:307)<em> OR </em>(01:160:315)
No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.