A Simple Card Game To Teach Synthesis in Organic Chemistry Courses

Abstract

The sheer number of reactions covered in an undergraduate organic chemistry course can be overwhelming. Students are expected to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of these reactions in order to understand the logic of organic synthesis. A method that allows students to systematically solve organic synthesis problems without memorizing dozens of reactions would be beneficial. Two new card games, Synthesis and Synthetic Dominos, have been developed using a variation of traditional flash cards. Both of these games allow players to develop the logical skills needed to solve organic synthesis problems, review organic functional groups, and review reaction reagents. The first game, Synthesis, is a solitaire game that uses reaction cards to link up a starting material and target by connecting functional group conversions. The game play mimics the process used to solve synthesis problems. The second game, Synthetic Dominos, is a single-player or multiplayer game that has a gameplay similar to that of Dominos. An i...