CHEMISTRY 161 FALL 2007
11/06/2007 07:37 AM
CHEMISTRY 161 FALL 2007
GENERAL INFORMATION
Required for the course (bring to your first laboratory class)
The Chemistry 161 Laboratory Manual
You may also find useful
Approved safety goggles (available in Room 185) an electronic calculator, a ruler, lab coat
Note that no shorts or open-toed shoes may be worn in the lab.
CEM 161 web site
Cemscores web site
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu then go to Course nformation, then
General Chemistry, then CEM 161.
From any computer on campus, enter cemscores as the url. From
computers off campus, you can access the site through the CEM 161 web site.
General Chemistry Program Manager
Wendy Whitford; Room 185 Chemistry; tel 5-9715 ext 335 email:
tsuji@chemistry.msu.edu
http://msu.lon-capa.org
Log in at this site using your MSU pilot ID and password.
LON-CAPA © problem sets web site
Manager of the teaching laboratories
David Voss; Room 134A Chemistry;
email: voss@cem.msu.edu
The individual lab instructors will be posted later.
The first laboratory class
Look in the MSU Schedule of Courses for the day, room, and time that your laboratory section first meets. Lab
classes start during the week of Monday September 3 rd. Because Monday September 3 rd is Labor Day, Monday
labs will meet for the first time on September 10th to do Experiment 1 (not 2). For your first class, you will need to
purchase the laboratory manual (2007 edition) from one of the bookstores (The Student Book Store, The College
Bookstore, Neds, or the MSU Spartan Bookstore). In preparation for your first class read over the introduction and
the first experiment in the lab manual. For most experiments in CEM 161 you must wear approved safety goggles
(available from local bookstores or more cheaply from Room 185 Chemistry).
There are many different sections meeting in Rooms 103 and 111 in the Chemistry building throughout the week.
Be sure that you know the number, time, and room of your own section. Monday labs will meet during
Thanksgiving week to do Experiment 2 but there will be no labs for the remainder of that week.
Checking into your lab
After an introduction to the course, your instructor will ask you to check your lab equipment. Make sure that you
have all the equipment listed on the inventory sheet. Get broken or unacceptable equipment replaced. At the end
of term you will have to pay for any missing or broken equipment.
If you miss your first lab class
If you will miss your first class, you must check in at the General Chemistry Office (Room 119 Chemistry; tel 59715 ext 323; email: tsuji@chemistry.msu.edu) before the first lab meets. Otherwise your place in the laboratory
might be given to another student. If you miss the first experiment, you may do this experiment concurrently with
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the next experiment the second time your class meets. Inform your instructor if you wish to do this.
Text
There is no text for this course; the laboratory manual serves as both your text and your lab notebook. Data
gathered during each experiment must be entered directly into this manual in ink on the appropriate data sheet. A
copy must be removed and given to the instructor before leaving the laboratory class.
Prelab homework
It is important that you read over each experiment before coming to class. Before each class, from the second
week through the end of the course, you must complete a personalized problem set concerning the next week’s
experiment. These problems will be administered under the LON-CAPA © system (http://msu.lon-capa.org).
Your answers to the questions are due before 7:30 am on the Monday of each week. It is your
responsibility to make sure that you answer the questions before the deadline.
If you have problems with the LON-CAPA © system, get help before the deadline! Go to Room 185 (General
Chemistry Office) or send an email. For assistance with the chemistry, go to the Help Room (Room 83). For other
questions, go to Room 185 (General Chemistry Office).
You must score at least 15/36 on these problem sets in order to pass the course.
Help Room
In addition to assistance provided by your laboratory instructor, you may get help from other instructors in the
Help Room (Room 83 Chemistry). The hours that the Help Room will be open will be posted.
Absence from class
You are allowed to miss two laboratory classes for any reason; for example, you may be sick, it may be a religious
holiday, or you may have to return home for some reason. Your grade in the class is based therefore on your best
11 scores for the 13 experiments (110 points). If you miss a third class, you will receive a score of 0/10 for that
experiment. If you miss a fourth class, your grade in the course will be 0.0. Note that you must check in your
equipment at the end of the last lab so it is not a good idea to miss that lab. You are allowed to miss only one
LON-CAPA © problem set. Further prelab problem sets cannot be excused. Your total score for the prelab problem
sets is based on your 9 best scores (36 points).
Changing sections or dropping the class
If you change sections, either during drops and adds or later, you must check out of your original lab and check in
to your new section. Also ensure that your instructor passes your record onto your new instructor. If you drop the
class you must check in your equipment or you will be charged for the check in ($25 plus any breakages).
Grading
The grade you receive in this class will be based upon the accuracy and precision of your experiments and your
LON-CAPA © problem sets. Each of nine best CAPA © problem sets during the term counts for four points for a
total of 36. Each of your eleven best experiments counts for ten points for a total of 110. The total number of
points possible is therefore 146.
In order to ensure equality of grading between the 18 different instructors in the course, the score out of 110
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for which your instructor is responsible will be normalized so that the mean for each instructor is the same.
The pre-lab LON-CAPA © scores will not be normalized. The grade you receive in the course will be based
upon the sum of your normalized total experiment score and your CAPA © score.
Total points / 146≥
Grade
86
1.0
95
1.5
104
2.0
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113
2.5
122
3.0
131
3.5
140
4.0
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