My suspicion is that professors of organic chemistry who teach at the undergraduate level fall into a couple of different camps. Those that require very strict adherence to formal IUPAC rules all the time, and perhaps those who are prepared to be a little more lenient as long as there is no ambiguity. How accurate (or otherwise) is that thought? There seems to me to be all kinds of inconsistencies in various texts which suggest that a lack of ambiguity is they key for many, rather than a strict, hardline IUPAC stance. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
Question for professors of organic chemistry at the undergraduate level
February 12, 2012
Dunno if you still look onto old posts, but a TA for an honors Organic chem class here. We actually don’t cover IUPAC nomenclature in our class. Our focus is on Frontier Molecular Orbital Theory and how it applies to mechanism. Students are encouraged to learn the naming system but are not examined on it. So far as students can refer to compounds like “that mixed anhydride” or identify groups (tButyl, methyl, ethyl, etc) is sufficient. We do mention o/p/m during the aromatic chapter but never any formal naming.
Thanks so much for your note.