Principles of Chemistry I Syllabus for 2013-2014
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Instructor Information

Course Information

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Course

CHEM-1311-001 Principles of Chemistry I

Prerequisites

Prerequisites: CHEM 1305-minimum grade of C or high school chemistry; MATH 1314; RDNG 0331-minimum grade of C or a score on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading skills Corequisite: CHEM 1111

Course Description

Fundamental principles of chemistry for majors in the sciences, health sciences and engineering; topics include measurements, fundamental properties of matter, states of matter, chemical reactions, chemical stoichiometry, periodicity of elemental properties, atomic structure, chemical bonding, molecular structure, solutions, properties of gases, and an introduction to thermodynamics and descriptive chemistry.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ Chemistry:  The Central Science, 12th Edition, by Brown, LeMay, Bursten (if you are continuing on to 1312; silver hard-back book)

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\ Chemistry:  The Central Science, Custom Edition for AC, by Brown, LeMay, Bursten (1311 only; tan soft-cover book)

Supplies

Mastering Chemistry Access (www.masteringchemistry.com)

The course ID is SHADIX1311SPRING2014

 

Student Performance

\ Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

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\ 1. Define the fundamental properties of matter.
\ 2. Classify matter, compounds, and chemical reactions.
\ 3. Determine the basic nuclear and electronic structure of atoms.
\ 4. Identify trends in chemical and physical properties of the elements using the Periodic Table.
\ 5. Describe the bonding in and the shape of simple molecules and ions.
\ 6. Solve stoichiometric problems.
\ 7. Write chemical formulas.
\ 8. Write and balance equations.
\ 9. Use the rules of nomenclature to name chemical compounds.
\ 10. Define the types and characteristics of chemical reactions.
\ 11. Use the gas laws and basics of the Kinetic Molecular Theory to solve gas problems.
\ 12. Determine the role of energy in physical changes and chemical reactions.
\ 13. Convert units of measure and demonstrate dimensional analysis skills.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

\ Please be respectful of the other students in class.  Turn off cell phones/pagers.  Pay attention in class.  Do not be disruptive.  If you arrive late, do not try to go to your accustomed seat, but quietly take a chair close to the door.  If you are causing a disruption in class, you may be asked to leave. 

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\ If there is any evidence of cheating on any homework, quiz, test, or final, you will receive a zero for that item and cannot make it up or replace it and it cannot be dropped.

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\ Please see Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for further information.

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Grading Criteria

The final average will be derived from the following weighted grades: Reading Quizzes - 5%, Daily Quizzes - 10%, Tests - 60%, Homework - 10%, Final Exam - 15%.  Grades are based on 90.00+ = A, 80.00-89.99 = B, 70.00-79.99 = C, 60.00-69.99 = D, and 59.99 and lower = F.

Tests: There will be a test approximately every two chapters covered (i.e. 4-5 tests).  The test date will be solidified at least a week in advance, please note that this means that the scheduled dates are subject to change.  The lowest grade will be dropped. If a test is missed it will automatically count as a zero, but can still be the dropped grade.  There are NO makeup exams.  Work must be legible and the final answer must be clearly indicated to receive credit.  If special accommodations become necessary, arrangements must be made BEFORE (at least 24 hours prior) the exam date and you must have written approval from the instructor in order to take the exam at a different time than your section of CHEM 1311.  You may not leave the room during a test.  No tests will be handed out once someone has left the room.  During tests, there are no cell phones, graphing calculators or other electronics devices allowed.  You must use the periodic tables, scratch paper, and calculators supplied by the department. You should bring nothing more than a pencil and the printout of the emailed ticket.

 All tests, excluding the Final Exam, will be taken in the Science Testing Center and may be taken during normal Science Testing Center hours, day or evening.  Tests are to be taken outside of class lecture time.  Please note:  No tests will be given out less than one and a half hours before the Science Testing Center closes. You must present an Amarillo College student ID every time you take a test. The Science Testing Center staff will retain your ID while you take your test and it will be returned to you when you turn in your test.
When using the Science Testing Center students should scan in and out with their Amarillo College student I.D.

You will be given at minimum 3 days to take the exam. I.E. if the exam opens on Monday I will pick them up Wednesday evening, and if the exam opens on Wednesday I will pick them up Friday evening.

Cheating will not be tolerated in any Chemistry course at Amarillo College. On the first day of class, you will be required to sign and date a Course Contract. Included in the contract is the following statement: "I fully understand that if I cheat, or attempt to cheat, on any test I will receive an automatic “F” in the course. This grade will go on my permanent transcript and cannot be removed. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: the illegal use of books, notes, cell phones*, copying or leaving the Science Testing Center with a test or questions from a test. Cheating also includes helping, or attempting to help, other students to cheat on a test."
You will not be allowed to take your tests until this contract is signed and on file in the Science Testing Center.
*Please Note: NO CELL PHONES in the Testing Room. If we see your cell phone out AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, while in the testing room, YOU WILL RECEIVE an "F" for the course!

You must use the periodic tables, work paper, and calculators supplied by the Testing Center.  You should bring nothing more than a pencil and the test ticket.  FOR ALL STUDENTS, YOUR TICKET MUST BE BROUGHT TO THE TEST AND COMPLETED BEFORE THE TEST BEGINS or you cannot start the test.  The test ticket will be a record of what tutoring is mandatory for you as a student with a place for the SEC tutors to show that you have completed it.  If this is not completed, the testing center will not hand out your exam.  You may then go to the SEC and complete it before the exam is due, given sufficient time.  DO NOT LEAVE this until the last minute as you may not be allowed to take an exam if you do.  Again, the Testing Center will not hand out tests when less than an hour and a half remains before closing.  MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE TESTING CENTER HOURS.

In order to take an exam you will receive an email to your AC email. This is your ticket to taking an exam, therefore you must bring a printout of this to class. This is also how I will communicate to you on whether or not you need tutoring over a chapter or quiz (see daily quizzes below). If you do need tutoring over a chapter there will be a space provided for a signature from me, Mr. Shier, or a tutor in the SEC. THIS IS REQUIRED BEFORE YOU TAKE AN EXAM. As detailed below you will not be allowed to take an exam if you have not done the mandatory tutoring for those chapters, if needed.

I do not return exams in class.  When you see the grades available on AC Online, you may come by my office to pick up your exam.  If you have a test grade below a 70%, you must schedule a time with me so that we can go over the test together.  You CANNOT take another test until you have picked up your previous test.

In addition to the test remediation that is required, you may take (optional) a 20 question post quiz after we go over the exam. Anyone wanting to take this post quiz must have the questions they missed gone over, regardless of the grade. This is voluntary and anyone may participate. This quiz will be designed to reflect your knowledge of the material. You will receive 25% of the points you improved back to your original test grade. For example, if you make a 60 on an exam and score a 100 on the post quiz you scored 40 points higher on the post quiz than on the original exam, therefore you would get 10 points (25%) added back to your original score bringing it to a 70. There will not be a post quiz over chapters 8 and 9 due to time constraints.

You have 10 days from the time the grades are posted to take the post-quiz for any given exam. This means that if you leave it until later, while you can still do the tutoring if needed, you will not be allowed to take the post-quiz for extra points.

We will also be doing student led and instructor supervised study sessions before the exams. This is tentative based on scheduling and timing of the exam, however we will do the best we can to ensure that this time is available to you. These study sessions will be held in the SEC usually on Monday evening the week of the exam 6 - 10pm. If the exam falls on a Monday, a time during the previous week will be provided to you. These study sessions are there to allow students to review the practice exam with one another and to ask any follow up questions to the instructor, not for me to reteach the material. That means come prepared with questions and study material beforehand.

Reading Quizzes: The quizzes will be assigned to ensure that students are keeping up with reading the text. Quizzes will be administered in class in the first few minutes of lecture time.  Generally quizzes on a subject will be after the first day covering that chapter i.e the middle of the lecture over that chapter.  Please see the weekly schedules posted in blackboard.  The lowest grade will be dropped. If a quiz is missed it will automatically count as the low grade.  There are NO makeup quizzes.  If you are not in the classroom when quizzes are passed out, you cannot take the quiz for that chapter.  Do not arrive tardy for class.

In-Class Quizzes:  During lecture, multiple-choice questions will appear on slides that you must answer and turn in at the end of class.  These will be graded and the percent correct will be your quiz grade for that day. 

This semester daily quizzes will be answered via clicker. Using these clickers is easy and will facilitate both speed of grading and the amount of information and feedback available to you. To log into the system with a clicker, once the receiver is made available, simply input the number next to your name on the screen into your clicker. This will assign that clicker to you for that session only, so there is no reason to get the same clicker over and over again.

Each question will have a countdown timer that will tell you the amount of time available. The total points that you receive for the chapter will be your score for that chapter. After each class, your grades will be available to you in the SEC. You will be able to see what you missed and why you missed it. This is an invaluable tool for you and the tutors to figure out why you misunderstood a concept. 

Due to the nature of the lecture course, the number of questions will vary from day to day, but if there is lecture (not a test or a problems day) there will be a quiz grade. If your answers for all quiz questions over a given chapter are less than 70% correct, you will be required to come to Mr. Shier, Mr. Shadix or the SEC for 30 minutes of tutoring followed by ALL the questions over that chapter’s material.  You must both attend the tutoring and score above a 70% on the retake questions or you will not be allowed to take the test over the material.  There will be two versions of the retake questions so that you may make multiple attempts, but please remember only the first attempt will count as extra credit.  You will receive a running total of the percent of questions you have correctly answered when your in-class quizzes are returned to you.  Those students who have voluntarily attended tutoring throughout the chapter may use their retake scores to determine if mandatory tutoring is necessary. If you miss a day of class for any reason you must receive tutoring over the information that you missed.

A "Daily Quiz Chapter 0" will be emailed to you which is over this syllabus.  It is required that you take this and get 100% or you will not be allowed to take any tests.  You must also initial each question to show you understand the corresponding portion of the syllabus.

Homework Problems: Problems will be assigned for each chapter.  Doing the homework improves the understanding of the subject matter.  Assignments will generally consist of 15-20 questions and due dates will be posted on the Mastering Chemistry website.  Assignments are due at 11:59 pm and NO late homework will be accepted.  Do not leave homework until the last minute as you may have trouble connecting to the internet.  Homework assignments cannot be made up, but one assignment can be dropped.  The homework will be online through www.masteringchemistry.com.

There will be a "Homework 0" that is due by September 11.  In order to do this assignment, you must schedule 2 hours (it may not take you the whole time) with the SEC to go in and take an old version of the ACS final.  All you need to bring is a pencil for filling out a provided scantron.  This will be a completion grade--either a 100% or a 0% for not doing it.Your time will be recorded and you will be given a "0" should the time invested indicate a lack of effort. This is an old version of the final and it would be benificial to you if you become familiar with it now.

Extra Credit: Rare extra credit assignments might be given in class that will count toward either your final homework grade or test grade depending on the assignment.  There is always the option to submit questions for any quiz or test with the correct answers.  Please label papers with the assignment for which you are turning in questions. These must be submitted by 5 pm the evening before the quiz or test to receive any credit.  In addition to the EC, the question may well appear on the assignment.  The “better” the question and the sooner I receive it, the more likely it is to be included.

Final Exam: This will be a comprehensive, multiple-choice exam produced by the American Chemical Society.  Special rules for the final will be posted beforehand.  As with normal tests, you may, if necessary, take the final at another time, but you must inform me at least 24 hours before your section’s scheduled time, have a valid reason, and have written approval from me in order to switch when you will take the final.

Grade Disputes:  While I encourage you to come to me with questions about answers on assignments anytime, if you wish to dispute a grade or have a grade changed, you must contact me about it within two weeks of the grade being posted or there will be no change to the grade.

Attendance

Attendance in class is expected.  Dropping the course is the sole responsibility of the student.  Failure to officially withdraw will result in a grade of F. 

Last day to withdraw from courses without written permission is April 24.

Calendar

Additional Information

\ Reading the Text:  It is vital that you read the text BEFORE the lecture on that chapter.  This will greatly improve your understanding of the topic and therefore your grade.  As there is a large amount of information to cover in this class, not all of it can be covered in the time allotted for class.  You are responsible for the information presented in the text even if it is not covered in lecture.

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\ Resources Available:  In addition to copies of lecture slides available on both the 2^nd (CD) and 4^th (print-outs) floors of the library, there are numerous additional resources available to you.  Additional helpful books are available on reserve on the 4^th floor of the library.  Most resources I have in my office including supplementary texts and additional problems are available for check-out.  Mastering Chemsitry:  Please be aware of the Study Area as a resource within Mastering Chemistry.

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\ Email:  Every student has an account in AC Online.  You need to check this daily. Handouts, extra credit assignments, grades, and contact will all be made through email on AC Online.

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\ Class Evaluation:  At the end of each class period, you may be asked to fill out a short form including any questions you might have about the subject, whether that day’s lecture or a previous topic.  In addition to keeping roll, these questionnaires are intended to assist both you and me in addressing problem areas and WILL NOT affect your grade.

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\ INFORMATION SHEET/SIGNATURE:  You must fill out and return the information sheet for this class (handed out and posted in AC Online).  You must also sign it to signify that you have read and understand the syllabus.  You will receive grades of zero in AC Online for all assignments and no graded assignments will be returned to you until the signed information sheet is turned in.

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\ ***This syllabus is subject to change.  You will be informed of any changes to the syllabus in class, email, and posting in AC Online.***  

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