 Catalog
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Description:
Pre-requisite: Math Level 2, Math 087, placement, or equivalent.
This is a one semester course in the basic fundamentals of
General Chemistry with a survey of Organic, Nuclear, and BioChemistry for students who plan to pursue a health-related
profession* or who have an interest in chemistry. An emphasis is
placed on the relationship between chemistry and life through
issues and examples from the health, medical, and
environmental fields. A two hour laboratory exercise each week
is used to reinforce the lecture material. The course does not
assume a prior knowledge of chemistry. Credit will not be given
for both CHEM 120 and CHEM 161 (or equivalent).
 Instructor
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Info
John Muench
John or Mr. Muench or Professor
ICN 2020
Best method for contacting me is email
John.Muench@heartland.edu
Phone = (309) 268-8656.
Course Web Page:
http://employee.heartland.edu/rmuench
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Textbook is by Timberlake
 Note – 11th edition is very similar
to the 10th edition.
Lab book is available in the
bookstore
Study guide is not for everyone, but
has a lot of great supplemental
problems.
Website for book is also a good
alternative. Course ID =
MUENCH120SP12
Scientific calculator and periodic
table.
 Learn
about chemistry from the
perspective of the health sciences.
 Apply some basic problem-solving
techniques.
 Key fundamental concepts (Chapters 1 –
9) are covered over the first 12 weeks.
 Survey of Organic and Biochemistry
(Chapters 10 – 16) are covered in the final
four weeks.
Lectures – I try to present the material in a clear
cut manner.
 Try to give at least one example problem for
each type of problem in class.
 Worksheets contain the the bare minimum
amount of homework needed to pass the course.
 Quizzes are meant to find out where students
are at with the material.
 Exams present your opportunity to show what
you know.
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 There
are also group quizzes and
assignments that will be completed as in
class exercises. I will assign groups.
 Memorization of formulas and constants
are not necessary as I provide these to
you on quizzes and exams.
 You will be allowed to use your notes for
quizzes and prepare one page of notes for
the exams.
 Combination
of worksheets, quizzes,
exams, and lab exercises.
 Worksheets and Quizzes are a total of 225
points. I’ll drop the lowest two quizzes.
 There are four exams worth 125 points
apiece, but I drop the lowest score, so
total exams are 375 points.
 The final exam is comprehensive and
worth 200 points (and not OPTIONAL!)
 Lab is worth 200 points.
Total points are 1000.
 Grades are based on a 90.00 – 80.00 – 70.00 –
65.00 scale.
 However, your overall lecture average must be
greater than or equal to 65% to obtain a D,
70% to obtain a C, 80% to obtain a B, or 90% to
obtain an A. Also, successful completion of
your lab work is also required.
 Ex) A student’s lecture percentage is 78.5%, lab
is 92.1%, and overall is 81.1%. This student
would get a C based on the lecture percentage.
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 An
individual report will be emailed to your
HCC email address after each exam.
 If you DO NOT wish to receive your grade this
way, then please let me know ASAP so I can
remove you from the mail merge.
 Due to FERPA rules, a additional layer of
security may be required with any email
correspondence regarding grades.
 Please use the following as “our” security
code = “potassium bromide” if asked.
Attendance – required in the lab. In lecture, I
will be keep track…
 Lack of attendance is the number one reason
why students do poorly.
 Supplemental homework from the book, study
guide, or website is strongly encouraged, but is
not collected for credit.
 Worksheets and quizzes are assigned and
collected. These are a show-your-work type of
assignment and partial credit is given.
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Note: Answers only will not be accepted!!!
 There
is one worksheets per chapter and
they are generally due in one week.
 Worksheets can be turned in one class
period later with no penalty.
 Worksheets turned in two or more weeks
late are generally not accepted for
credit.
 Exceptions can be granted for more time
to complete an assignment, but please
talk to me.
Exams are 32 questions, but in a multiple choice
format.
 No partial credit is given on exams.
 Exams are curved to reflect their difficulty.
 I’ll pass out a sample exam before each exam to
give you a flavor of the types of questions I’ve
asked in the past.
 There are NO make-ups on exams.
 A self-assessment will follow the first three
exams.
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 Final
Exam is comprehensive and NOT
optional.
 The exam is 32 questions with eight
questions from EACH exam.
 Will be allowed to use materials from the
previous exams and the exams
themselves.
 You
must be present and
participate to receive
credit for the group
exercises.
 Please practice good cell
phone etiquette at all
times during lectures.
You are encouraged to work with and check
answers with students from the course.
 However, merely copying someone else’s
worksheet is a violation of academic integrity.
 Penalties range from getting a zero on that
assignment to receiving an “F” for the course.
 Cheating on ANY exam will result in an automatic
failure in the course.
 Note: there will always be two forms on each
exam to lower the temptation for cheating off of
a neighbor!
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Successful Students are:
Ones that accept
PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Discover SELFMOTIVATION
Master SELFMANAGEMENT
Are SELF-AWARE of their
goals
And employ good
study(BDA) habits
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Struggling Students:
See themselves as
VICTIMS
Have little MOTIVATION
Have no clear-stated
GOALS
Are solitary, rarely
request help, and may
even reject help
Lack a good SUPPORT
system
Have SELF-DOUBT about
abilities
 Tutoring
is available down in our library
area.
 My office hours are posted including
“virtual” hours.
 Web site contains all of the class
resources.
 Special study session is from 2 – 3:20pm
on Monday in the lab room (ICB 1401).
 Gives
dates for all quizzes and exams.
 Some topics may be started sooner or later
than dates anticipated.
 There will be other options for taking the
Final Exam.
 Questions?