Principles of Chemistry I Syllabus for 2013-2014
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Instructor Information

Course Information

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Course

CHEM-1311-002 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; black/silver hard-back book)

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\ OR

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

Supplies

Mastering Chemistry Access (www.masteringchemistry.com; shier1311spring2014)

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. 

Please see items in Grading and the Contract for Success on cheating.

Please see Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for further information.

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 announced at least a week in advance.  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.  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.

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.

I do not return exams.  When you see the grades available on AC Connect, you may come by my office to see your exam or make an appointment with the SEC (please tell me so I can take your exam to them).  After viewing/going over the test, it must be returned to the SEC staff.  If you have a test grade below a 70%, you must schedule a time with me or the SEC to over the test (remediation).  You CANNOT take another test until you have completed any remediation required.

In addition to the test remediation that is required, you may take (optional) a 20 question post quiz after going 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.  This extra credit quiz MUST BE COMPLETED within 10 days of the original test date.  Due to timing issues, this will NOT be available for the final test over Chapters 8 & 9.  This post quiz will be available at the SEC, not the Testing Center.

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. 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 reteaching 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.  Quizzes over a particular chapter occur early in the discussion of thtat chapter, but always occur sometime in the middle of the total discussion time.  Generally quizzes on a subject will be the first full day in which we begin the day in the midst of that chapter.  That is, if we finish chapter X one day and begin chapter Y that same day, the next day will have a quiz over chapter Y. Please see schedules posted in AC Connect weekly.  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.  There are NO MAKEUPS for Reading Quizzes.

A "Reading Quiz 0" will be emailed to you which is over this syllabus.  It is required that you take this and get all answers completely correct 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.  The due date for Quiz 0 is Februarty 5th.  If you do not have a 100% at that point, your grade will remain a zero, but you may continue to attempt to turn in quizzes until you have one completely correct.

Daily Quizzes:  During lecture, marked questions will appear on slides that you must answer and turn in at the end of class.  These will be graded and your quiz grade for that day will be based on the number correct.  If the number of questions is not evenly divisible into 100, the remainder of points will be for the date and quiz number, so make sure to fill out those on every quiz.  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.  You may, after taking the quiz, go to the Science Enrichment Center (SEC, Warren 110), Mr. Shier, or Mr. Shadix for tutoring/help on the topics and a chance to retake the quiz on the same material.  If you score 100% on the first retake, 10% will be added to your original quiz score (maximum score 100).  This is voluntary, but must be done by the date that homework is due for that chapter.  However, 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 quizzes 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 feel that your voluntary tutoring scores will release you from mandatory tutoring, you MUST check with your instructor to ensure that is the case.

If you miss a class day, it is REQUIRED that you go to the SEC for tutoring and the above quiz retake over just that class day.  Be aware that missing a class day is very likely to cause your chapter average to drop below a 70% as well, but since you are required to do tutoring and retake the quiz, you may not have to retake ALL the quizzes.  Make sure to check with your instructor to ensure this is true.

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 two assignments can be dropped.  The homework (except below) will be online through www.masteringchemistry.com.  The course ID is shier1311spring2014.

There will be a "Homework 0" that is due by February 5th.  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.  However, you cannot simply sign in and get 100%.  Your start and finish times will be recorded.  It is to your advantage to do the best you can and fully attempt all questions as this is an old version of the final exam for this course.  Become familiar with it now, rather than later.

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: The final exam will be given on Tuesay, May 13, 7:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. in Warren 201. 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.

Overall Grade:  It is the students’ responsibility to keep track of their overall grade based on Reading Quizzes – 5%, In-Class Quizzes - 10%, Tests - 60%, Homework - 10%, Final Exam - 15%.  The lowest reading quiz, test, and homework grade and the lowest 2 in-class quizzes will all be dropped and the average for that type of assignment will be based on one (or 2) less than the total.  If you have trouble calculating your grade, you may come to my office to see your overall grade.

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 in AC Online 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 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.

Resources Available:  In addition to copies of lecture slides available on both CD and print-outs on the 4^th floor of the library, there are numerous additional resources available to you.  Additional helpful books and practice tests 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.  The Science Enrichment Center is a further resource for you.  Please see above on in-class quizzes for further information on mandatory tutoring at the SEC.

Web Portal:  Every student has an account in AC Connect.  You need to check this daily.  Handouts, extra credit assignments, grades, schedules and email contact will all be made or posted on AC Connect.  This is where you should me as your instructor (since it labels the email with the class, it is much easier to keep track of emails that way).

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.

INFORMATION SHEET/SIGNATURE:  You must fill out and return the information sheet for this class (handed out and posted in AC Connect).  You must also sign it to signify that you have read and understand the syllabus.  You will receive grades of zero in AC Connect for all assignments and no graded assignments will be returned to you until the signed information sheet is turned in.  Likewise, you will be required to sign the Contract for Success and it must be on file with the Testing Center before you will be allowed to take exams there.

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