Course Information and Syllabus General Chemistry I
Required Textbook:
OWL v2 24 month access code plus access to electronic textbook of Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity 9th Edition
by John C. Kotz, Paul M. Treichel, John R. Townsend, and David A. Treichel (Cengage, 2015). ISBN
9781285460550.
OR
OWL v2 24 month access code plus access to electronic textbook plus looseleaf paper copy of Chemistry &
Chemical Reactivity 9th Edition by John C. Kotz, Paul M. Treichel, John R. Townsend, and David A. Treichel
(Cengage, 2015). ISBN 9781305367425.
To sign up for OWL, go to http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/E-­‐X7FGQLYX9QMB4 and follow the instructions there for registering for my course with your access code.
Other optional resources, recommended but not required:
• Eubanks, Lucy T. and Eubanks, I. Dwaine, Preparing for Your ACS Examination in General Chemistry.
Examinations Institute, American Chemical Society, Division of Chemical Education, 1998.
• Pauling, Linus, General Chemistry. Dover Publications, New York 1988
• Emsley, John, Nature’s Building Blocks. Oxford University Press, New York 2001
• Miodownik, Mark, Stuff Matters, Mariner Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) 2013
Objectives: This course is the first of a two-semester sequence in general chemistry. CHE 103 focuses on fundamentals
of atomic structure, stoichiometry, chemical bonding and states of matter. The objectives are (1) to master these topics as
a foundation for further study, (2) to develop and practice problem-solving skills, and (3) to gain an appreciation for how
the study of chemistry fits in as the central science that is related to biology and physics, the health sciences, and other
endeavors.
D2L: Frequently (at least daily) check D2L for course announcements, documents, handouts, answers to problems, etc.
Lab: If you wish to take the lab, you must register for the separate lab course, CRL103.
Course requirements: The student is required to demonstrate proficiency in the course material and problem solving on
the examinations and quizzes, and homework. A hand-held calculator capable of computing logarithms (a ‘scientific”
calculator) is required and may be used during examinations. Students are responsible for learning how to use their own
calculators. Use of programmable calculators is NOT permitted.
Communication with the instructor: The preferred method for communicating with the instructor outside of the
classroom and office hours is via e-mail. It is expected that students will activate and maintain regular access to
University-provided email accounts and will be responsible for accessing that mail to be sure to obtain official University
communications. To protect students’ privacy, normally the instructor will only reply to wcu email, not to email that
comes from outside accounts (like gmail, hotmail, etc.)
EVALUATION:
Homework/Quizzes (see note below)
Unit Exams
anticipated, tentative dates: 10/12; 11/3; 12/5
Final Exam:
Fri 12/11 10:30-12:30
15%
60%
25%
On-Line Homework/Homework/Quizzes:
It is planned that there will be on-line homework assignments that will be assigned using the OWL v2 system. The
assignments will be graded electronically. You must get these done on time. Each assignment will have a deadline. It is
highly recommended that you set for yourself a personal deadline that is a couple of days ahead of the deadline.
That way, if there is a problem with a computer or an internet connection then it can be resolved in time to submit your
work before the actual deadline. If you postpone work until the deadline and there is a technical difficulty that prevents
you from submitting your work on time, then you’re out of luck. The instructor reserves the right to implement and
substitute written homework that is collected and/or quizzes for any or all portions of this 15% of the grade. To sign up for
my OWL course, go to http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/E-­‐X7FGQLYX9QMB4 and follow the instructions there for registering for my course with your access code.
Unit Exams: We are planning 3 unit examinations. The three unit exams collectively count as 60 % of the course grade.
Programmable and Graphing calculators are NOT allowed. These tentative dates are subject to change: Oct 12 Nov 3;
Dec 5
The Final Examination will be weighted as 25 % of the course grade. It is a comprehensive exam written by the
American Chemical Society that covers the first semester of general chemistry. The Final Exam grade cannot be dropped.
Programmable and Graphing calculators are NOT allowed.
Math Skills: You need to have a good working knowledge of math. No calculus is required in this course, but you must
be able to handle algebra equations, logarithms, roots, etc. DO THE MATH REVIEW IN OWLv2! If you have difficulty
then this should alert you that your math skills need to be upgraded before you attempt CHE103.
Policies regarding Academic Dishonesty, NO-GRADE, Sexual Harassment, and Student Conduct:
For questions regarding Academic Dishonesty, the No-Grade Policy, Sexual Harassment, or the Student Code of Conduct,
students are encouraged to refer to their major department’s handbook, the Undergraduate Course Catalog, the Rams Eye
View, or the University Web Site. Please understand that improper conduct in any of these areas will not be tolerated and
may result in immediate ejection from the class.
Calculators:
You should bring a calculator with you to class. On my exams and the final exam, you are permitted to use a scientific
calculator. Programmable and graphing calculators are not permitted.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required at all meetings of the class. We are together only 42 times, so cutting a class means that you will
miss a lot. “Grade penalties” for missing class are self-imposed: you won’t do well if you miss class, and your grade
will suffer. If you do miss class, you are responsible for all of the material, as well as any announcements about changes
in exam schedule and the like. Read the policy in the Undergraduate Catalog
It is not unusual for students who earn grades of F to have missed multiple classes. An unexcused absence from a quiz or
exam will result in a grade of zero being entered for that quiz or exam. If you must miss a quiz or exam because of
activity in a university sponsored event or for a religious observance, you must notify the instructor BEFORE the day of
the quiz or exam to make up the exercise. If you must miss a quiz or exam because of illness or other emergency, you
must notify the instructor by email within 24 hours of the exercise in order to be eligible to make it up. If the instructor
decides that there will be a make-up exam, the instructor will decide the date and time of any possible make-up exam; a
make-up exam could possibly be in an entirely different format from that of the original exam.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
West Chester University will make accommodations for persons with disabilities. Consult the Office of Services for
Students with Disabilities (ext. 3217) and bring the resulting documentation to the instructor.
Cell Phones and Text Messaging:
I consider it rude for students to answer their cell phones or to send text messages during class. Please do not engage in
these activities. During class, put you phone out of sight, in your bookbag or pocket, not on the desk. If a phone call or
message comes in that is an EMERGENCY, please quietly leave the room and handle the situation in the hallway.
Laboratory:
There is a separate laboratory course, CRL 103, associated with this course. It is a 1-credit course that is graded separately
from this course. Students usually take this course the same semester as this one, but it may also be taken in a later
semester.
Emergency Preparedness:
All students are encouraged to sign up for the University’s free WCU ALERT service, which delivers official WCU
emergency text messages directly to your cell phone. For more information and to sign up, visit
http://www.wcupa.edu/wcualert/
To report an emergency, call the Department of Public Safety at 610-436-3311.
Title IX
West Chester University and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational environment for all
students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and
guidance from the Office for Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to report incidents of sexual violence
shared by students to the University's Title IX Coordinator, Ms. Lynn Klingensmith. The only exceptions to the faculty
member's reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual violence are communicated by a student during a classroom
discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as part of a University-approved research project. Faculty members are
obligated to report sexual violence or any other abuse of a student who was, or is, a child (a person under 18 years of age)
when the abuse allegedly occurred to the person designated in the University protection of minors policy. Information
regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that are available to victims of sexual violence is set forth at
the webpage for the Office of Social Equity at http://www.wcupa.edu/_admin/social.equity/.
General Education Goals:
CHE 103 is an approved course in the WCU General Education program. It is designed to help students meet the
following general education goals:
General Education Goal #2: Students graduating from West Chester University will be able to employ quantitative
concepts and mathematical methods.
General Education Goal #3: Students graduating from West Chester University will be able to think critically and
analytically.
Assessment that these General Education Goals have been met will be through your performance on the examinations and
homework assignments in the course. In particular, the Student Learning Goals for this course (see below) have been
correlated with these General Education Goals.
Student Learning Goals:
(Copied/Modified from the Chapter Goals listed in Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, 8th Edition by John C. Kotz, Paul
M. Treichel, and John R. Townsend (Cengage Learning, 2012).
By the end of this course, the successful students should be able to:
1. Classify matter.3
2. Recognize elements, atoms, compounds, and molecules.3
3. Identify physical and chemical properties and changes.3
4. Describe various forms of energy.
5. Use common units for measurements in chemistry and make unit conversions.2
6. Express and use numbers in exponential or scientific notation.2
7. Incorporate quantitative information into an algebraic expression and solve that expression.2
8. Read information from graphs.2
9. Recognize and express uncertainties in measurements.2
10. Describe atomic structure and define atomic number and mass number.
11. Understand the nature of isotopes and calculate atomic masses from isotopic masses and abundances.2,3
12. Know the terminology of the periodic table.
13. Interpret, predict, and write formulas for ionic and molecular compounds.3
14. Name ionic and molecular compounds.3
15. Understand some properties of ionic compounds.3
16. Explain the concept of the mole and use molar mass in calculations.2
17. Derive compound formulas from experimental data.2,3
18. Balance equations for simple chemical reactions.3
19. Understand the nature of ionic substances dissolved in water.3
20. Recognize common acids and bases and understand their behavior in aqueous solution.
21. Recognize the common types of reactions in aqueous solution.3
22. Recognize common oxidizing and reducing agents and identify oxidation-reduction reactions.3
23. Perform stoichiometry calculations using balanced chemical equations.2,3
24. Understand the meaning of a limiting reactant in a chemical reaction.2,3
25. Calculate theoretical and percent yields of a chemical reaction.2
26. Use stoichiometry to analyze a mixture of compounds or to determine the formula of a compound.2,3
27. Define and use concentrations in solution stoichiometry.2,3
28. Assess the transfer of energy as heat associated with changes in temperature.3
29. Understand and apply the first law of thermodynamics.3
30. Define and understand state functions (enthalpy, internal energy).3
31. Describe how energy changes are measured.
32. Calculate the energy evolved or required for physical changes and chemical reactions using tables of
thermodynamic data.2,3
33. Describe the properties of electromagnetic radiation.
34. Understand the origin of light emitted by excited atoms and its relationship to atomic structure.2,3
35. Describe the experimental evidence for particle-wave duality.3
36. Describe the basic ideas of quantum mechanics.3
37. Define the four quantum numbers (n, l, ml, and ms) and recognize their relationship to electronic structure.
38. Recognize the relationship of the four quantum numbers (n, l, ml, and ms) to atomic structure.3
39. Write the electron configuration for atoms and monatomic ions.3
40. Rationalize trends in atom and ion sizes, ionization energy, and electron affinity.3
41. Understand the difference between ionic and covalent bonds.
42. Draw Lewis electron dot structures for small molecules and ions.3
43. Use the valence shell electron-pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory to predict the shapes of simple molecules
and ions and to understand the structures of more complex molecules.3
44. Use electronegativity and formal charge to predict the charge distribution in molecules and ions, to define
the polarity of bonds, and to predict the polarity of molecules.3
45. Understand the properties of covalent bonds and their influence on molecular structure.
46. Understand the differences between valence bond theory and molecular orbital theory.3
47. Identify the hybridization of an atom in a molecule or ion.3
48. Understand the differences between bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals and be able to write the
molecular orbital configurations for simple diatomic molecules.3
49. Understand the basis of the gas laws and know how to use those laws (Boyle’s law, Charles’s law,
Avogadro’s hypothesis, Dalton’s law).2
50. Use the ideal gas law.2
51. Apply the gas laws to stoichiometric calculations.2
52. Understand kinetic-molecular theory as it is applied to gases, especially the distribution of molecular
speeds (energies).3
2
General Education Goal 2; 3 General Education Goal 3
Reading assignments: The textbook readings complement and supplement the lectures. You are responsible for both
lecture material and textbook content. The course schedule shows the chapters that will be covered. Read the chapter
before it is covered in class. Actively and attentively listen in class. If there are things that you don’t understand well,
ask about them. Read and study again after the topic is covered in class, to reinforce your understanding of it. Do the
homework as well as any practice problem sets that might be given on D2L.
Advice:
•
Adopt a positive attitude.
•
Be curious.
•
Attend every class, as an active learner, not just a note-taker.
•
Stay up-to-date with reading and homework.
•
To do very well in this course, you will be required to do more than simply recall facts. You’ll
have to apply what you know to new situations as you solve problems.
•
You will need to have a good working knowledge of math. If you are weak in math, you should
make sure that you remedy this before you attempt CHE103.
•
Do not rely on memorization alone as a study strategy—this does not work well in chemistry
courses.
•
Advice from Robert O’Malley, author of Problems in Chemistry:
“Before trying to solve problems, study the relevant sections of the text and class notes.
Memorize the precise meaning of important terms and statements of principles. The first
step toward the successful solution of a problem is to read the statement of the problem
very carefully. Next, reflect on the meaning of the terms and determine exactly what is
asked for by the problem. (This point cannot be overemphasized. Probably the greatest
source of confusion in any kind of problem solving stems from the failure to determine
what is asked for. Obviously we need to “understand” the problem. But we often forget
that understanding a problem is above all a matter of knowing what kind of answer we
are looking for.) Once you have determined both what the problem asks for and what
principles are required to provide the appropriate kind of answer, you can proceed in an
orderly fashion to perform the necessary mathematical manipulations”.