Chemistry 110
Fall Semester 2015
Lecturer:
Office:
Research Lab:
Phones:
Email:
Dr. G. M. Ferrence
305 SLB
304 SLB (stop in and learn what happens beyond CHE 110)
438-7971 or 438-7661 (Chem. Dept.)
ferrence@ilstu.edu or gferren@ilstu.edu
Default communication with students will be made via ISU student ULID e-mail accounts.
WARNING: Dr. Ferrence’s default spam filter settings block e-mail not ending in “.ilstu.edu”.
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays 2:00 – 2:50 p.m. in SLB 305
Tutors:
List of tutors should be available at the Chemistry Office in Julian 214
Required Texts: Chemistry, 1st Ed by OpenStaxCollege, Rice University, ISBN: 978-1-938168-39-0. This is an
excellent new chemistry text that is available FREE to students and may be accessed online or
downloaded free at: http://tiny.cc/110text . (Most chemistry texts like this one cost over $110
for online versions and some hardcopies are approaching $300; the one we used in spring 2015
costs $200 for the hard copy and IMHO this text is better.)
Required ALEKS: A subscription to the artificial intelligence-based individualized learning system, ALEKS
(ISBN 978-1-2592079-4-5) is required for this course. ALEKS may be purchased directly from
McGraw-Hill following directions at: http://tiny.cc/110ALEKS . (List price $60 on 01 June,
2015)
Course Web-pages:
http://www.ferrites.org ; http://tiny.cc/110piazza Ferrites.org is Professor
Ferrence’s personal web domain and forwards to his ISU page where you can access links to
courses he teaches, his research interests, and other information. “Piazza is an online platform that
facilitates interaction among students and instructors in an efficient and intuitive manner.” It is
free for students to use. In CHE 110, it will be a place for student communication and a place to
access lecture outlines, practice exams, and other course related information.
Catalog Description:
CHE 110
FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMISTRY NSA
4 sem. hrs.
Introductory survey of fundamental concepts, laws, and theories of chemical science and their
application to common chemical systems. Not for credit if had CHE 141. May not be taken under
the CT/NC option.
General Education:
CHE 110 is a designated part of a Natural Science Alternatives [NSA] option in ISU’s General Education
Program. To complete the option CHE 112 Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory must be successfully
completed, but not necessarily concurrently.
In Natural Sciences courses, students learn about the scientific view of the universe, the scientific laws
governing its behavior, and the nature of scientific inquiry into these phenomena. The courses emphasize
basic scientific principles and the way an understanding of these principles helps individuals understand the
physical and natural worlds. Students will be expected to integrate information from the natural and
physical sciences, and thus to begin the life-long process of arriving at an understanding of the nature of
life, the earth, the universe, and interactions among them.
Courses in the Natural Sciences category of General Education address the following program
objectives:
I. knowledge of diverse human cultures and the physical and natural world, allowing students to
a. use theories and principal concepts, both contemporary and enduring, to understand technologies, diverse
cultures, and the physical and natural world
b. explain how the combination of the humanities, fine arts, natural and social sciences, and technology
contribute to the quality of life for individuals and communities
c. experience and reflect on global issues
Chemistry 110
Fall Semester 2015
Continued
II. intellectual and practical skills, allowing students to
a. make informed judgments
b. analyze data to examine research questions and test hypotheses
c. report information effectively and responsibly
III. personal and social responsibility, allowing students to
c. demonstrate ethical decision making
IV. integrative and applied learning, allowing students to
a. identify and solve problems
Primary outcomes are indicated in plain text and secondary outcomes are indicated in italics.
Contact Hours:
This course will meet each week of the semester for four 50 minute periods.
Academic Honesty and Professionalism:
Simply put: Be nice and don’t cheat. Seriously!
Please see information about ‘Community Rights and Responsibilities’ and the ‘Code of Student Conduct’
and other valuable information regarding professional ethics at the ISU Dean of Students website:
http://deanofstudents.illinoisstate.edu/conflict/ Course Overview:
This course constitutes a one-semester survey of fundamentals of chemistry.
You are responsible for lecture, readings, homework and ALEKS material on course exams.
Lecture
Your attendance is expected at all scheduled lecture periods. Material presented in the lecture is the core of
the course, and is the material that will be heavily emphasized in the examinations. Reading and homework
assignments will be made in lecture sessions on a regular basis. Weekly online ALEKS assignments are
expected be completed. Chapters 1-7, 9-11, 13-14, and 21 will be covered to a greater or lesser extent this
semester. Topics include: Essential Ideas, Atoms, Molecules, and Ions, Composition of Substances and
Solutions, Stoichiometry of Chemical Reactions, Thermochemistry, Electronic Structure and Periodic
Properties of Elements, Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry, Gases, Liquids, Solids, Solutions and
Colloids, Solutions and Colloids, Acid-Base Equilibria, Equilibria of Other Reaction Classes, Nuclear
Chemistry.
Student Objectives:
Through successful completion of CHE 110, students have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate
knowledge and competencies in the following areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Basic conceptual understanding of atoms, molecules, chemical bonding, and chemical reactivity.
Basic conceptual understanding of properties of matter including gasses, liquids, solids and
intermolecular forces.
Dimensional analysis skills.
Chemistry problem-solving skills.
Algebraic manipulation of stoichiometric problems.
Chemistry 110
Fall Semester 2015
Continued
Required Student Tasks/Assignments:
1.
Web-based Assignments
In most weeks excluding Thanksgiving Break students will be expected to complete an online ALEKS
Objective (linked via the CHE110 web-site). ALEKS Objectives are worth 8 points each. Over the course
of the semester 14 ALEKS Objectives will be administered. The top 12 scores of these assignments will
count towards your grade. This amounts to 96 possible points. Another 4 points may be earned for
Properly Registering in ALEKS before the end of the first week of the semester. It is the student’s (your)
responsibility to keep track of his/her web-assignment progress. To receive credit for a given ALEKS
Objective, answers must be submitted electronically to the grade book using the directions provided at
ALEKS. Partial credit is given for partial completion of an objective. The score for a particular objective is
based upon the percent completion of that objective before its deadline.
ALEKS is designed with a mastery approach in mind. As such ALEKS Objectives will vary in length and
difficulty, and they frequently may require more than a few hours to complete, and generally should be
worked on a little every day. ALEKS keeps track of over overall progress in the form of a PIE graph
summarizing the overall mastery of the topics for the entire course. The percent mastery of this PIE at the
start of the final exam will be used as a PIE grade worth up to 100 points. Periodically ALEKS will
administer mandatory assessments which must be completed to continue progress with ALEKS. These
assessments calibrate the system to you and are used to verify mastery, so topics may be added or removed
from your PIE in relation to each assessment; however, points earned in Objectives are never lost during
assessment. (Percent completion of PIE, may however go up or down; thereby affecting the PIE grade.)
Please see the handout “An Introduction to ALEKS for CHE 110 at ISU” for more details. Generally
ALEKS Objectives will be due at midnight, but I will set the system to allow 1 hour ‘grace’ until 1:00 am
the following day. Keep this in mind when viewing the ALEKS calendar.
2.
Exams
There will be four 50 minute in-class hour exams on the following dates:
Hour Exam 1
Thursday, September 03
Hour Exam 2
Thursday, October 01
Hour Exam 3
Thursday, October 22
Hour Exam 4
Thursday, November 12
The final exam is cumulative (half on material since Exam 4); it will be 110 minutes long and will be held:
CAREFULLY NOTE
Final Exam
TBA by Registrar
This is a University approved and scheduled final exam. The final examination schedule for this course will
be provided through http://my.illinoisstate.edu/ by the registrar’s office. Plan accordingly.
MAKE-UP EXAMS NEED TO BE PREARRANGED WITH INSTRUSTOR
GENERALLY THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE USED AS THE MAKE-UP EXAM
WITH POINTS WEIGHTED ACCORDINGLY
MAKE-UP EXAMS ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO MULTIPLE CHOICE
Exams will consist of machine scored multiple choice questions. Bring your ISU Student ID card, a #2
pencil and a calculator (not programmed; no laptops; no cell phones) to every exam. These will not be
provided. Material for exams will come from lecture, readings, homework, and ALEKS.
Chemistry 110
Fall Semester 2015
Continued
Absences Due to Student Bereavement:
Students who experience the death of an immediate family member or relative as defined in the University
Student Bereavement Policy will be excused from class for funeral leave, subsequent bereavement, and/or
travel considerations. Students are responsible for providing appropriate documentation to the Dean of
Students office and for contacting the instructor as soon as possible to make arrangements for completing
missed work. More information is available in the Student Bereavement Policy at
http://www.policy.illinoisstate.edu .
Grading
Final grades will be determined by a combination of scores from the 50 minute exams, ALEKS, registering
for ALEKS, and the final exam. Grades will be based on the requirement of not more than
720 points for an A, 640 points for a B, 560 points for a C, and 480 points for D. The breakdown of points
is as follows:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Exam 4
Final Exam
Properly Registering in ALEKS*
ALEKS weekly Objectives
ALEKS Pie Completion
100 points
100 points
100 points
100 points
200 points
4 points
96 points (8 points each; only top 12 scores count towards grade)
100 points (equal to overall percent completion by final exam)
Total
800 points
* ALEKS, registering properly includes without needing help from Dr. Ferrence.
Cell Phones
Please remember to silence your cell phones before class. Enough said.
Information on Accommodations:
Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact
Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 309‐438‐5853, www.disabilityconcerns.ilstu.edu.
Disclaimer
Homework & ALEKS assignments and any changes to this syllabus will be announced in class; it is the
responsibility of the student to attend every lecture and be aware of any announcements.