American Chemical Society
Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— March 1998 —
Dictionary of Organic Compounds (DOC)
Why teach DOC?
- Includes most compounds used in undergraduate labs.
- Provides useful info for undergrad. lab. work.
- An example of a more comples source than CRC, etc., so students learn the skill and value of using name and MF indexes.
Teaching points:
- Entries are alphabetical by name commonly used in labs (i.e. do not need to think about IUPAC nomenclature).
- If compound name is not an entry, there are name and MF indexes.
- Gives CA name for compound, if need to go to print CA Substance Index, and the RN if need to do computer search.
- Provides the structure (graphic).
- Gives MF, basic properties (e.g. density, mp, bp, etc.), description of substance (e.g. cryst.).
- Gives toxicity info and references to more extensive descriptions.
- Lists major references for synthesis, spectra, etc.
| Format | Available |
|---|---|
| Print: | New 6th edition in 1995. 9 vols. Published by Chapman & Hall. |
| Online: | Dialog as File 303 — Chapman & Hall Chemical Database. Incorporates other Chapman & Hall Dictionaries, e.g. Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds. |
| CD-ROM: | Available as a separate CD for DOC and as part of the Chapman & Hall Chemical Dictionaries on CD-ROM. Has graphic structure building feature, so students learn to “draw” structures. |
Practice questions:
The best practice is to have students use DOC in context of lab assignments — e.g. look up melting point (not found in CRC).