A Jigsaw Classroom Activity for Learning IR Analysis in Organic Chemistry

A modified jigsaw classroom activity is presented for the integrated study of functional groups and their characteristic infrared absorption frequencies. Students individually performed semiempirical studies on the vibrational frequencies of an assigned molecule and compared the results to an experimental spectrum from a database. The results of these studies were discussed in a small group exercise to discover the spectral features that are most useful in identifying particular functional groups and their relationship to structures.