Chemistry Songs

Project Overview

These songs were written and performed by students in Dr. Otto Phanstiel's Organic Chemistry I and II Classes, starting in 1999, and still singing.

"Sn1 and Sn2"

Jonathan Guerrero, Sarah Ortiz, Cortney Bell, Ahmad Alwassia, Ashley Wagner

Song: "Pop"

Artist: N'SYNC

Verse One
Organic Chem. . .
I'm sick and tired of looking at these chemical rxns
What's the deal with SN2 and what the heck does it do
The thing you got to realize that its easier than it looks
With an inversion of stereochem.
At the carbon atom.

(SN2 Reactions)
The nucleophile uses its lone pair
(To attack)
The alkyl halide that's 180 degrees away
(The departing)
Halogen leads to a one step transition
(with a partially)
Formed C-Nuc bond and a partially broken C-X bond

Chorus:
Do you ever wonder why?
Phanstiel gets you high
He takes you on a ride
With his crazy antics he can rhyme
In his wild shirts he does shine
We get lost in his green eyes
This is organic chem.

Verse Two
Now, now you got to try
To understand the SN1 Reaction
Cuz it's just a little different
That the SN2 you fool
There's a rate-limiting and a fast step
Included in this mess
It can now attach on either side of the carbon

(It spontaneous)
Disassociate the alkyl halide
(In the slow step)
It generates a carbocation
(In the fast step)
Reacts with H2O which is the nucleophile
(Lose a proton)
And it will yield a neutral alcohol

Chorus:
Do you ever wonder why?
Phanstiel gets you high
He takes you on a ride
With his crazy antics he can rhyme
In his wild shirts he does shine
We get lost in bonds of "pi"
This is organic chem.

Man I'm tired of singing
Repeat Chorus . . .