Spectroscopic Instruction in Introductory Organic Chemistry: Results of a National Survey

The results of a national survey on the instruction of spectroscopy in the introductory organic chemistry curriculum are reported. The survey was sent to the chemistry departments certified by the American Chemical Society. The survey response rate was 52%. The survey results indicated that the spectroscopic techniques of IR, MS, proton NMR, and carbon NMR are core techniques in most courses. A considerable amount of the instruction in spectroscopy is occurring in both the laboratory and the lecture portions of the course. There is a wide diversity in the style of instruction used for spectroscopic analysis, especially in the laboratory portion of the course.