CH-185 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
Spring Semester, 2007

5 semester hours credit

Meetings: Three hours of lecture, one hour of recitation and two hours of laboratory per week.

Instructors: Dr. Marcus Bond (Office No. RH230A) lecture and recitation
                     Dr. Phillip Crawford (Office No. RH201A) laboratory (Section 01)
                     Ms. Jennifer Smalley (Office No. RH201B) laboratory (Sections 02, 03, and 04)
                     Dr. Bjorn Olesen (Office No. RH201D) laboratory (Section 05)

Textbook: Chemistry, the Central Science, 10th Edition by Brown, Lemay, & Bursten

Exams: There will be 4 "one-hour" exams worth 100 points each and a "two-hour", 200 point, comprehensive, multiple choice final exam. The final exam will be a national standardized examination containing 70 questions. The final exam score will be calculated as follows: (number correct-5)x4 to a maximum of 200 points. If your final exam percentage is higher than your overall hour exam percentage, then your two lowest hour exam scores will be replaced by your final exam percentage. An exam may not be made up unless an excused absence occurs. The make-up exam is comprehensive and will be given only on Friday, May 4 at 4 P.M. in MG204.

Quizzes and In-class Exercises: A quiz or in-class exercise will be assigned during the weeks in which an exam is not held. Days and times of quizzes or in-class exercises will generally not be announced ahead of time. Quizzes will be multiple choice with no partial credit given. In-class exercises will be completed as part of the lecture and full credit earned easily by paying attention to the classroom presentation. Make-up work for quizzes and in-class exercises will not be given. In other words, if you are not in attendance that day for any reason, then you are out of luck. Each quiz or exercise will be graded for 10 points for a total of 110 points possible total over the semester. However, only 100 points possible will be counted in the final grade, all points in excess of this will count as extra-credit. This also means that one absence can occur without hurting your quiz grade.

Homework: Homework assignments will be made most Fridays and will be due the following Friday at 3:00 p.m. Turn in your homework assignments at the homework slots for your lab section located in MG214 (the General Chemistry Laboratory). The homework problems should be worked in full with all set-ups shown.

Recitation: The purpose of recitation is primarily to review material covered in lecture. Oral responses are expected from the students during recitation and students should be prepared to ask questions of the instructor pertaining to the material with which they are having difficulty. The recitation period the week following an exam will be devoted to covering new lecture material.

Laboratory: Each laboratory assignment is listed in the schedule opposite the date that starts the week in which the experiment is to be done. Laboratory reports (both formal and informal) are due at 3:00 P.M. on the Monday following the week in which the experiment was performed. Be familiar with the laboratory assignment before entering the laboratory. For most labs a prelab write-up is required. Record your name, the date, and your laboratory section in the appropriate blank on the data sheet. Record all information requested, make calculations, draw conclusions, and answer all questions. If the questions are not repeated on the data sheet, be sure the answer is preceded by the same number in the same position as the number preceding the question in the write-up. You are not to work in pairs unless specifically told to do so by the instructor. Laboratory work is to be recorded in ink or indelible pencil.

NOTE: Safety goggles are available and all students must wear safety goggles in the laboratory. Some of the laboratories require a formal report. For these laboratories, students will complete a data sheet during the laboratory and then prepare a formal report on the exercises. The laboratory grade will be determined by the sum of all of the grades on the laboratory reports turned in throughout the semester. When a student fails to turn in a laboratory report or a homework assignment on time, it will be assumed that he or she did not do the work necessary to complete the assignment. In general, a student will not be permitted to make up laboratory work unless there is a very good reason for an absence.

A LABORATORY GRADE OF AT LEAST 50% IS EXPECTED FOR A COURSE GRADE OF C OR BETTER

Grade: The course grade will be determined on the following basis: 4 one-hour exams - 400 points, 1 two-hour final -200 points, homework - 100 points and laboratory reports - 200 points, quizzes/in-class exercises - 100 points.

The total grade percentage can be calculated at any time during the semester from the equation:

total % = (exam % x 0.6) + (lab % x 0.2) + (homework % x 0.1) +(quiz % x 0.1).

Initial grading scale:

90% A

80% B

60% C

50% D

If your total grade percentage at the end of the semester is higher than one of those shown above, you are guaranteed to receive at least the corresponding grade. However, the instructors may, at their discretion, lower these grade cut-offs to take advantage of significant breaks in the distribution of total percentages.

Checking intoand out of Lab: When a student checks into the laboratory and receives equipment and a locker in which to store it, the student contracts to buy several dollars worth of this equipment and is responsible for it. The chemistry department will accept the equipment back at the same price at the end of the semester if it is clean and in good condition. Those who remain in the class throughout the semester will check their equipment back the week before final exam week. THOSE WHO DROP THE COURSE OR LEAVE SCHOOL SHOULD RETURN THEIR EQUIPMENT AT THE TIME OF WITHDRAWAL. Failure to observe these rules will result in hiring someone to check the student out. The standard charge of the chemistry department for this service is ten dollars, plus breakage. Remember the department does not want the ten dollars, but rather wants the cleaned equipment returned. The student will also be provided with a pair of goggles, a packet of lab handouts, and expendable supplies that are not to be returned at the end of the semester.

CH185 Grading Policy and Study Hints

Grading

1. Four Hour Exams (100 pts each)       400 pts.
2. Final Exam                           200 pts.
3. Laboratory Reports                   200 pts.
4. Homework                             100 pts.
5. Quizzes/In-class Exercises           100 pts.
Total number of points possible:       1000 pts.

Final grades will be assigned as follows: 900- 1000 pts. (90-100%) A
                                           800 - 900 pts. (80-90%) B
                                           600 - 800 pts. (60-80%) C
                                           500 - 600 pts. (50-60%) D
                                              0 - 500 pts. (0-50%)F

I may, at my discretion, lower these ranges slightly at the end of the semester to take advantage of significant gaps in the final scores. If you receive a point total within a given grade range, however, you are guaranteed at least that grade. For example, if you finish the semester with 889 points total, you are guaranteed to receive at least a B for the course, but might end up with an A if I decide to lower the grade cut-off. However, if you finish the semester with exactly 900 points, you are guaranteed an A.

Special Note: If the percentage score on your final exam is higher than your average percentage for the four hour exams, then I will replace each of your two lowest hour exam scores with your final exam percentage when I determine your final grade.

Questions? Problems? Complaints? Here's how to get in touch with me.

Office hours.

My office is in Rhodes Hall, Room 230A (across the hall from the Chemistry main office). I will be in my office from 10-11 A. M. on Monday Wednesday, and Friday; and 1-2 P.M. on Friday. But I am usually around most other times of the day as well. If you can't see me during my office hours, just drop by my or make an appointment with me for another time if you want to be sure of catching me. I am more than glad to help you with any problems or questions you might have about class material, so don't be afraid to drop by my office and talk.

Leaving messages

Phone (Voice mail): Call 651-2580

Electronic mail: Send to bond@mbond2.st.semo.edu

CH185 Web Site:   General announcements about the class and approaching deadlines will be posted on the CH185 Web site at URL http://ch185.semo.edu.  It is a good idea to check the Web site periodically to keep abreast of any new announcements.

CH185 Discussion Group: On-line discussion groups are available through the CH185 Web site at URL http://ch185.semo.edu.  From the main page you should click on the "Discuss" button, then select the "Lecture Discussion Group" link. I will check these groups at least once a day, so if you post a message here I will respond to you within 24 hours. This is especially useful for questions you feel might be of general interest to the rest of the class. If you know the answer to somebody's question, feel free to post a response yourself.

Homework Hints

The homework will be spot graded, i.e. only selected problems in each assignment will be graded. Most graded problems will be worth 2 points with full credit awarded if you demonstrate a basic understanding of the solution to the problem, one point awarded if you made a reasonable attempt to solve the problem but could not reach the solution, and zero points awarded if you made little or no attempt to work the problem. Thus it is to your advantage to try working every problem in the homework, even if you are unsure of how to do it.

The homework assignments are designed to prepare you for the exams, so it is important to complete every homework assignment and use the returned assignments as a study aid for the exams. Even though the homework grade accounts for only 10% of the overall grade, your performance on the homework has a direct effect on your performance on the exams. I find that students who maintain an A average on the homework almost always, with rare exception, earn a grade of ``C' or better in the class. Those with homework grades lower than this often struggle. A homework average below 90% is a warning sign that your final course grade is in peril.

Questions related to the homework problems generally will be discussed during recitation each week. Before coming to recitation you should have at least tried each homework problem in order to get the most out of the recitation discussion. Waiting to start the homework the day before it is due is a recipe for disaster.

Exam Hints

The hour exams will consist of 40-60 points worth of short answer problems , 20-40 points worth of multi-step word problems, and 10-15 points worth of short essay questions. A complete breakdown of the types of problems on each exam will be given to you on the Friday before the exam. The word problems will be derived from analogous word problems in the homework, although the structure of the problems may differ a little (in order to test your understanding of the problems). Simply memorizing how the homework problems are done will, therefore, may not be of much help on this part of the exam. Short answer problems are intended to test your knowledge of single concepts and will come both from homework problems and material covered in lecture but not on the homework. Short essay questions consist of a two-three sentence explanation of an important concept or problem from the lecture material. A comprehensive set of exam objectives is given out at the start of the semester. If you really know everything on the list of exam objectives, you will get an "A" in the class. Follow along with the objectives from lecture period to lecture period to help you keep up with the class and use the objectives to study for each exam.

The "hour" exams are designed to be completed in 50 minutes. First look through the exam and work those problems that you are sure you know how to do. Then start working those that you are a little more uncertain of. Don't spend a lot of time at the start of the exam working the most difficult problems. On the other hand, try to put at least something down for every problem. Partial credit will given for partially correct work, so if you don't know how to finish a problem, you can still get some credit by working through as much of the problem as you can. Just putting down the correct equation you need to start solving the problem can get you a point or two in many cases.

The final exam will be a 70-question, four answer multiple choice standardized exam prepared by the American Chemical Society that is designed to be completed within 110 minutes. The exam will be almost comprehensive, with the exception of material from Chapters 14 and 15.

Some of you will also need to take the make-up exam. This will be a comprehensive exam of fourteen questions, one from each chapter of the book. A set of exam objectives for the makeup exam will be made available the week before the exam. Do not be fooled by its apparent brevity: the make-up exam is very difficult. Do not plan on taking it unless you absolutely need to.