CHEMISTRY 0710/0760, UHC GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1
FALL TERM 2013 (2141, class number 10752/10754)
INSTRUCTOR:
Prof. Adrian C. Michael
Office: 901 Chevron
Office hours: Wed 10-11 am, 1-2 pm (or by appointment)
Email: amichael@pitt.edu (subject line: UHC CHEM)
Chevron Room 150
TuTh 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Required: Chemistry, A Molecular Approach, 3rd Edition, by Nivaldo J. Tro
Highly recommended: Solutions Manual
Required for Chem 0710: UHC Gen Chem 1 Lab Manual, by Peter E. Siska
LOCATION
TEXTBOOK:
COURSE OUTLINE:
WEEK
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
DATE
READING SCHEDULE
Tu 8/27
Th 8/29
Tu 9/3
Th 9/5
Tu 9/10
Th 9/12
Tu 9/17
Th 9/19
Tu 9/24
Th 9/26
Tu 10/1
Th 10/3
Tu 10/08
Th 10/10
Tu 10/15
Th 10/17
Tu 10/22
Th 10/24
Tu 10/29
Th 11/31
Tu 11/5
Th 11/7
Tu 11/12
Th 11/14
Tu 11/19
Th 11/21
Tu 11/26
Th 11/28
Tu 12/3
Th 12/5
Chap 1. Chem, Measurement, & Problem Solving
Chap 2. Atoms and Elements
Chap 3. Molecules, Compounds, and Chemical Equations
TBA
FINAL EXAM (Chaps 1-12)
Chap 4. Chemical Quantities and Aqueous Reactions
Chap 5. Gasses
Chap 6. Thermochemistry
EXAM I (Chaps 1-4)
Chap 7. Quantum-Mechanical Model of the Atom
Chap 8. Periodic Properties
Fall Break – no class
Chap 9. Chemical Bonding I: Lewis Theory
EXAM II (Chaps 5-7)
Chap 10. Chemical Bonding II: VSEPR, etc.
Chap 11: Liquids, Solids, and Intermolecular Forces
Chapter 12. Solutions
Exam III (Chaps 8-10)
Thanksgiving recess
Exam Review
Last day of fall classes
Please read the chapters in advance of the dates indicated in the Course Outline, above.
Recitations:
During weekly recitations, which is the first hour of your lab session (Chem 710), your Teaching Assistant
will go over questions related to the homework and lectures: the recitation is an excellent time to ask
questions about any aspect of the material – prepare to take advantage of this opportunity.
The last 10-15 minutes of the recitation is reserved for a 10-point quiz: the sum of the quiz scores serves
as your recitation score for the term (see explanation of grading, below) . If you cannot attend your
regular recitation, you may attend a different recitation during the same week to take a quiz (this does
not apply to the lab: you must attend your scheduled lab). There are no other make-up quizzes.
Study the homework problems listed in the schedule below prior to recitation (homework is not
collected for grading – the recitation score is based only on the quizzes) – this list will be updated
throughout the term:
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Topic/Quiz
No Quiz
Quiz on Chapter 2
Quiz on Chapter 3
Quiz on Chapter 4
No quiz
Quiz on Chapter 5
Quiz on Chapter 6
Quiz on Chapter 7
No Quiz
Quiz on Chapter 8
Quiz on Chapter 9
Quiz on Chapter 10
No Quiz
No recitation
Quiz on Chapter 11
710 Recitations/Lab Sections:
Day
Time
Tues
1-4:50 pm
Wed
8-11:50 am
Wed
1-4:50 pm
760 Recitations
Mon
9-9:50
Recitation Homework Problems
Problems 1-142, omit 111-118
Problems 1-124
Location
Chevron 106
Chevron 106
Chevron 106
TA
Chevron 132
Miles Baston
TA Contact Info:
Miles Baston: mcb86@pitt.edu
Alyssa Lypson: abl25@pitt.edu
Brandon Mills: bmm25@pitt.edu
Laboratory Experiments (Chem 710 only):
Week
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Lab Title
Lab check-in
Chemical metallurgy
Dehydration and decomposition of inorganic salts
Synthesis of calcium oxalate
Chemistry of copper
Acids and bases: reactions and standardization
Acids and bases: analysis
The Gas Laws (see manual for Chem II)
Determination of R (see manual for Chem II)
Acid-base thermochemistry (see manual for Chem II)
Spectroscopy of atoms and ions
Particle in a box (new experiment)
No lab (Thanksgiving)
Electrical conductivity and bonding
Molecular structure and bonding
Chem 710 includes a laboratory (Chem 760 does not: Engineering students may register for Chem 710 if
they are interested in the lab). There will be 13 lab sessions, beginning in Week 2 of the term: Week
one is for check-in and orientation. Your overall lab score will be the average of your individual scores,
after dropping the lowest individual score. Labs cannot be made up and must be completed during the
scheduled lab period. If you miss a lab, that will be the dropped score. If you miss a second lab, the
score will be zero unless you have a valid reason for missing the lab, in which case the lab will be
excused and your overall score will be the average of the completed labs: valid reasons for excusing a
lab are rare – sorry, but social and family events are not valid reasons. A third missed lab will be scored
as a zero unless there are exceptional circumstances. There is no lab final exam.
Exams:
The Exams will be held during class time on the dates indicated in the Course Outline, above. The Exams
will end promptly: there will be no time extensions. The exams will consist of numerical problems
modeled after those assigned for homework and conceptual questions requiring short explanations of
the material covered in class and in the textbook. Full credit for the numerical problems requires
correct handling of significant figures and units. Short sentences and well-annotated, carefully drawn
diagrams will often be the best way to answer the conceptual questions. There will be no multiplechoice questions: partial credit will be awarded for partially correct answers.
Final Exam:
The Final Exam will be cumulative.
Policies for Exams:
Please bring pencils or pens in 2-3 different colors: these will be helpful for diagrams. You will need a
good eraser and a calculator. You may bring blank paper for scratch work (or use the back of the exam
pages) but you will answer the questions on the exam pages. A periodic table and an information sheet
will be provided: the information sheets will be posted on Courseweb in advance: you will need to know
any information not provided on the sheets. You may not use any books or notes during the exam,
except those provided as part of the exam packet.
You may only use a hand-held calculator: programmable calculators are not allowed (if your calculator is
programmable, do not program it); items with calculator-like functions (PDAs, notebooks, laptops, cell
phones, etc.) may not be used – these items must be turned off, put away and out of sight during the
exams. ANY STUDENT FOUND TO BE TEXTING, EMAILING, OR OTHERWISE UTILIZING UNAPPROVED
DEVICES DURING AN EXAM WILL RECEIVE AN F FOR THE COURSE. In signing the integrity pledge on the
exam packet you affirm that you will not engage in any action to compromise the integrity, fairness, or
honesty of the exam.
Exams must be taken at the scheduled times. Make-up exams will be possible only if arrangements are
made in advance and only when a valid need for rescheduling exists. Since most students in this course
are freshmen, and so not interviewing for jobs or grad schools, valid reasons to reschedule exams are
rare: sorry, but social/family events are not valid reasons.
You are expected to know and follow the University’s Academic Integrity Policy during all quizzes and
exams. This policy is posted on the Courseweb site for this course: please review it.
Extra Credit:
Students may submit two short papers worth 20 points each, for a maximum of 40 possible extra credit
points. The papers will be 3-5 double-spaced pages in length with proper citations (i.e. not just web
sites) on any relevant topic. Students are advised to discuss potential topics with Prof. Michael in
advance. Relevant topics might include, but are not limited to, a recently published peer-reviewed
paper or book, a scientific seminar or lecture you attend (not a Freshman Programs event), a scientific
research project you’re working on or one that you’re planning to work on (e.g. thru First Experiences),
or a current event with scientific relevance (e.g. the Nobel Prize announcements).
The scoring of these papers will be completely subjective. I’m expecting that only a few, truly
exceptional papers will earn the full measure of 20 points. A “good” paper, worth 10-15 points, will
present an interesting topic, will be written well, and will be supported with mostly peer-reviewed
citations. An excellent paper, worthy of 20 points, will have some sort of “oh wow” factor and will likely
teach me something I did not already know: the topic will be exceptionally interesting, the writing will
be clear, logical and authoritative, and the citations will be peer-reviewed and properly matched to the
text. Papers that are self-evident, common-knowledge, out of date, boring, trivial, off-topic, etc., might
receive zero points.
The first paper is due on October 8th and the second paper is due on November 12th (if you do not turn
in a paper on October 8th, only one paper will be accepted on November 12th). Papers cannot be revised
to improve the score. Although I will be happy to discuss your paper and its score during office hours,
please do not expect a detailed written response (sorry, but with such a large class, this is just
impractical).
Grading system:
First Exam:
Second Exam:
Third Exam:
Final Exam:
Recitation:
Lab:
Total:
100 points*
100 points*
100 points*
200 points*
100 points
200 points
800 points
*The exams themselves will not necessarily have 100/200 points… in that case the score will be
weighted appropriately (e.g. 70/80 = 88)
**Notice that the extra credit points are not included in this list: they are truly extra credit.
Assignment of Semester Grades:
For Chem 0710, final grades will be based on the total of points earned according to the following scale:
A+
A
A-
780-800
750-779
710-749
B+
B
B-
670-709
630-669
600-629
C+
C
C-
570-599
540-569
510-539
D
F
480-509
<480
Chem 0760 does not include a lab: final grades will be adjusted accordingly.
GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
How to contact Dr. Michael:
Come to Chevron 901 during office hours (given above, unless changes announced and posted on
Coursweb). Or, make an appointment by sending an email to amichael@pitt.edu, with “UHC CHEM” as
the subject, listing 2 or 3 times when you are available to meet (please do not ask chemistry questions in
your email: I much prefer to discuss chemistry in person). Or, catch me after class either to ask a
question or make an appointment (on a few rare occasions I might be in a hurry to get to another
appointment, but I should be available after most of our classes). You are always welcome to drop in
the office but please understand that I might not be there or might already be busy when you do.
How to get study help:
The main purpose of the weekly recitation is to provide you with an opportunity to work with your TA in
a small-group setting. The TA will be able to answer many of your questions.
Use the Fishbowl. The Fishbowl is a staffed chemistry help center. There is a schedule posted on the
window showing the times the times that your TA is scheduled to be in the Fishbowl. However, you may
ask any TA your questions. This is a great resource: I strongly encourage you to use it!!
Keep an eye on CourseWeb for lecture outlines, study tips, etc. Occasionally, I will use the CourseWeb
system to send everyone an email: please make sure to check your Pitt email account regularly or
forward your Pitt email to the account you regularly use.
Classroom Etiquette:
Please turn off all cell phones (not just silent), please enter via the back door if you arrive after the start
of class, and please sit near the back and use the back doors if you expect to leave early.
Please feel free to ask questions during class. If I don’t notice your raised hand right away, please wait
for a break in the action and then speak up.
Reading Assignments:
Please read the chapters at least once in advance of the class meetings listed on the course outline,
above. Study the chapters after class in more detail: you likely have your own study style/habits but I
recommend mastering each section, in sequence.
Use the textbook effectively: Please be aware of the following useful items at the end of each chapter:
List of Key Terms
Summary of Key Concepts
Key Equations and Relationships
Key Learning Outcomes
Review these items before and after reading each chapter and before proceeding to the problems.
NO HIGHLIGHTERS!! Highlighters add nothing to your understanding (and, you lower the value of your
book for future use).
Homework:
For homework, you should work the problems at the end of each chapter. Do some sample problems
prior to the recitation for each chapter in preparation for the quiz and so that you can ask questions
about problems or topics that might be giving you trouble. Homework is not collected or graded.
How much homework should you do? That’s entirely up to you: homework is your independent
responsibility. You must do enough homework to be ready for the recitation quiz each week and, more
significantly, the exams. How much is that? It depends. Sometimes, you will be familiar with the
material from a previous chemistry course and you will be brushing up: then, you may not need to do all
the problems in the chapter to be confident that you are ready for the upcoming quiz or exam.
Sometimes, you will be learning new material you have not seen before and it’s likely you will need to
do more homework in those chapters.
The problems at the end of each chapter are divided into different sections, each with an increasing
level of challenge. You should be able to do any of the “Problems by Topic” as these are relatively
straightforward, short-answer problems. The Problems by Topic give multiple examples of similar
problems: again, you do not need to do every problem in each topic if you are confident with the
material.
The “Cumulative Problems” are more challenging: being able to handle the majority of these problems
represents adequate preparation for the exams.
The “Challenge Problems” are probably “above and beyond the call of duty” but if you can do ‘em, that’s
great. Do not get anxious if your find some Challenge Problems that that you cannot manage (I can’t do
some of them!).
Checking your work: Answers for exercises and practice problems are provided at the back of the book.
Full solutions to the problems are available in the Solutions Manual that accompanies the textbook, so
you can check your own work.
Do not misuse the solutions manual! Make sure you work each problem independently and use the
Solutions Manual only to check your work. You must be able to work problems independently for the
exams: you must practice and develop this skill.