GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
CHEM 1311.020 (57385)
FALL 2011
COURSE SYLLABUS
Meeting Days /
TImes:
This class meets on the Internet at times chosen by the individual student.
The course is structured so that its activities can be completed
asynchronously. Students do not have to be logged on simultaneously to
pursue course activities. Each student can work on his or her own schedule,
as long as the course deadlines are adhered to.
Course Description: This course covers the fundamental principles of inorganic chemistry:
general chemical principles, fundamental laws and theories, including but
not limited to modern atomic theory, chemical bonding, states of matter,
solutions, stoichiometry, thermochemistry and gas laws. The course
content provides a foundation for work in advanced chemistry and related
sciences, and as such is aimed at science majors. This course is mathintensive (MI). The prospective student needs to have a good working
knowledge of the use of scientific notation, including use of calculator,
exponential and logarithmic functions, significant figures, dimensional
analysis, and solving simple linear equations. If a laboratory is needed, the
student should also take CHEM 1111.
Instructor:
Dale Robinson
Office:
San Jacinto Hall, Room 206
Phone:
210-486-3375
Office Hours:
To Be Announced
E-Mail:
drobinson@alamo.edu
Chat:
http://elluminatelive.alamo.edu
Use your first and last name (spaces are allowed) for the user ID.
Currently, no password is required.
Website:
http://www.alamo.edu/pac/faculty/drobinson
Text:
Chemistry, A Molecular Approach, second edition
Nivaldo J. Tro, Pearson © 2011
You must have a subscription to the Mastering Chemistry homework
grading system that accompanies this textbook. If you purchased the
textbook as a combo-pack from the Palo Alto bookstore, it includes an
access code to register for your account. If you have a used textbook, you
will need to purchase your subscription as a stand-alone item. This can be
done in the Palo Alto College Bookstore, or online at
www.masteringchemistry.com. When you set up your online homework
account, you will have the option to add the eBook to your subscription for
an additional fee. The eBook is not required if you have a paper book,
although you can choose to have both a paper book and an eBook if you
like. The lowest cost option is to purchase the eBook with your homework
subscription and do without a paper book. This will save you money, since
the eBook is cheaper, but not having a paper book can sometimes be an
inconvenience.
When registering for your Mastering Chemistry account, you will need to
specify the course ID for the class you wish to add to your account. The
course ID for this class is "CHEM57385". Enter this course ID exactly
as shown between the quote marks (but don't enter the quote marks
themselves). You will also be asked for your Banner ID. This is a 9-digit
number that begins with 900. If you don't know your Banner ID, please
contact your instructor for assistance. If asked for the zip code of your
school, use 78224.
Grading:
Exam Average (drop lowest grade)
Quiz Average (drop 2 lowest grades)
Mastering Chemistry Homework (drop 2 lowest grades)
Comprehensive Final Exam
Letter Grade:
A: Semester Score ≥ 90
B: 80 ≤ Semester Score < 90
C: 70 ≤ Semester Score < 80
D: 60 ≤ Semester Score < 70
F: Semester Score < 60
50%
10%
10%
30%
Semester Score = 0.50 * exam avg + 0.10 * quiz avg + 0.10 * homework avg + 0.30 * final
COURSE POLICIES
Student Responsibilities -- Internet Connection & Computer; Dealing with Technical
Failures:
This is an online course. With the exception of major exams, the student may participate in the
course anywhere an Internet connection is available. It is the responsibility of the student to
provide or obtain a reliable Internet connection and computer with which to pursue course
activities. In the event of computer failure or Internet connectivity problems, it is the
responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements. It is recommended that course
assignments be completed well in advance of their deadlines, to allow time to recover from
technical difficulties. In the event of computer / Internet related problems during a timed quiz in
Blackboard Vista, you should close the browser and immediately re-launch it. If this does not
work, you may need to re-boot your computer. You should be able to resume your timed quiz,
provided your time has not expired. It is important to note that your time on the quiz continues
to elapse, even while you are not connected to the Internet, or not viewing the quiz page.
Therefore, it is extremely important that you re-access your timed assignment as soon as possible
after a computer or network failure.
Note that exams are now REQUIRED to be taken in the Testing Center. In the event of a
computer failure during an exam, consult a Testing Center proctor. He or she will assist you in
re-gaining access to your exam. If the proctor on duty is not able to solve the problem, (s)he can
attest to the fact that a problem has occurred that has prevented you from completing the exam.
In such a case, the instructor will discuss the details of the failure with the proctor and the
student, and a grade adjustment or make-up (at the instructor's discretion) will be offered. A
student's claim of technical failure during an exam will not be accepted without verification by
the proctor on duty.
For work done at home: In the event of a failure that will prevent you from completing the
assignment, and for which you plan to ask for any kind of allowance to be made, you MUST
document the failure by calling the Alamo Colleges Helpdesk at 210- 485-0555. If the issue can
not be immediately resolved, get the name of the technician who helped you, and the ticket
number assigned to your issue. This information will show that you have made a good faith
effort to resolve the problem, and may help your instructor investigate the problem on your
behalf. Out of town students can call the Helpdesk toll free at 1-866-493-3947. If the problem
occurs at a time that is outside of Helpdesk service hours, then leave a voicemail message at 210486-3375. In your message, briefly describe what is going wrong, and leave a callback number
where you can be contacted. The instructor will return your call during normal business hours.
You should also follow up with a call to the Helpdesk as soon as possible after their service
hours resume. If these guidelines are not followed, no allowance can be made for the failure.
Expectation of Active Participation:
Since all assignments are made available at the beginning of the course, students may work at
their own pace, and may work well ahead of due dates. "Active Participation" shall be defined as
keeping current on all assignments, and responding to any email or bulletin board
communications that require the student's attention. Students who have more than 6 past due
assignments in the quiz and homework categories (total, not each), or who have missed two
major exams, may be dropped from the course by the instructor. Even if you have worked well
ahead of the posted due dates, you should still log in regularly to check email and bulletin board
messages.
Adhering to Deadlines:
Students are expected to comply with the assignment completion deadlines posted in this
course. These deadlines are found on the Blackboard calendar, and in the course calendar at the
end of this syllabus. Since all graded assignments (except for the final exam) are made available
at the beginning of the course, make-ups for missed assignments will be rare. When students
miss an assignment, the two most common excuses are the following:
1. The student was mistaken about the due date. They thought it was later than it really
was.
2. The student planned to do the assignment on the last day, but "something came up" that
kept them from getting it done.
Since the due dates are clearly posted -- in TWO places -- not being aware when something is
due is not a valid excuse. And, although you can wait until the last day (or even the final hour)
to complete an assignment, you do so at your own risk. For example, the fact that you got called
in to work on the last night you could complete an assignment is not grounds for a make-up.
You are strongly encouraged to complete work well in advance of posted deadlines. This gives
you time to recover when the unexpected happens.
On-Campus Monitored Testing:
Although most assignments in this course can be accessed 24 / 7 anywhere you have Internet
access, the exams are an exception. There are 4 exams and a final exam that MUST be
completed at the Palo Alto College Testing Center, located in Brazos Hall, Room 100. All the
other assignments can be completed without supervision, so this course will only require 5 trips
to campus over the entire semester. Your instructor regrets any inconvenience this requirement
may cause, but no exceptions can be made to this policy. Our exams are closed book and closed
notes. These rules are applied to students taking exams in the on-campus sections of this class,
and the only way to ensure that online students are held to the same standards is to monitor the
testing process.
It is very important for you to be aware that the Testing Center does NOT accept walk-ins.
You MUST have an appointment, set up at least one business day in advance. You can reach
the Testing Center at (210) 486-3444. You are strongly encouraged to set up your appointments
far in advance of the exam due dates. If you wait too late to set up an appointment, there is the
risk that the Testing Center will be full during your desired time slot. You have the best chance
of getting a seat at your preferred testing time if you make your appointment well in advance of
your testing day. The following table gives the available testing times:
Days
Monday
Times
8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
First Saturday of Month
8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Hours are subject to change. I will update this syllabus with any changes of which I become
aware.
PLEASE NOTE: Exams must be completed by the end time of the test session chosen. Students
are asked to arrive with enough time to allow for the length of their exam as specified by the
instructor. Students will not be allowed to start any test during the last hour of any session. No
exceptions will be permitted.
Academic Dishonesty (Cheating):
Students are expected to pursue their course activities in an honest manner. Academic
Dishonesty takes many forms, but some common examples include the following:
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Plagiarism -- Presenting the work of another person as if it were your own.
Using unauthorized materials or assistance when completing a graded assignment.
Claiming a computer failure has occurred (to get a make-up or grade adjustment) when
no such failure has occurred, and you are aware that everything is working normally.
This is the cyber version of "my dog ate my homework".
Asking someone to divulge the content of or answers to a graded assignment that you
have not yet completed.
Assisting another student in carrying out any act of academic dishonesty.
The penalty for academic dishonesty on a graded assignment will be a grade of zero for the
affected assignment. A zero assigned as a penalty for academic dishonesty can not be dropped
as the "lowest grade". Such zeros must ALWAYS be used in calculating the student's grade in
the course. An assignment that is "zeroed out" for dishonesty can not be made up. For
particularly serious cases, or repeat offenders, the instructor may also report the dishonesty to the
Dean of Students, for any possible disciplinary action by the College.
Schedule Change Policy:
The instructor has made every effort to set up an accurate and workable schedule of events for
this course. While there are currently no plans to make any changes to this schedule, the
instructor reserves the right to modify the schedule if unforeseen circumstances warrant any
changes. In the event of any changes, students will be notified via Blackboard email and/or a
bulletin board posting.
Resolution of Disputes:
Your instructor strives to treat all students with fairness and respect, and hopes your journey
through this course will be a pleasant one. However, in our complex, modern world,
misunderstandings and disputes sometimes arise. In most cases, when a student feels they have
been slighted, the best course of action is a polite discussion with the instructor. The instructor
will listen to the student's concern or complaint, and investigate the facts pertinent to the concern
or complaint. After careful consideration, the instructor will inform the student of his decision
and how that decision was reached. If the student is not satisfied with the instructor's decision,
the student may appeal, using the formal student grievance procedure as set forth by the Alamo
Colleges.
The student should by-pass the instructor in the grievance process only if they feel they have
been treated capriciously or arbitrarily by the instructor, and do not feel comfortable discussing
the problem with him.
It should be noted that this syllabus is a contract between the student and the instructor, and in
the event of any dispute, an arbitrator's first action would most likely be to determine whether or
not the issue in question (and its resolution) is already covered by this syllabus.
If any part of this syllabus is found to be in conflict with a higher authority (such as an official
Alamo Colleges policy), it shall be modified to the extent necessary to bring it into compliance
with the higher authority. The parts of the syllabus that are not in conflict will remain valid and
enforceable.
Communication Tools:
Each time you log in to your chemistry course in Blackboard Vista, you should check the
bulletin board, your Blackboard Vista email, and the course calendar. These are the places
where your instructor will post important messages involving the course. The email and bulletin
board facilities are also available for student-to-student communication. You should always use
Blackboard Vista email (rather than external email) to communicate with the instructor about
matters relating to this course. This keeps course-specific messages within the course, where
they will be available for later review, if needed.
The bulletin board is organized into 4 special topic boards. The board entitled "Messages from
the Instructor" is especially important reading. This is where you will find important updates,
news, instructions and announcements.
On the board entitled "New Student Introductions", you should introduce yourself to your
classmates. This is the online equivalent of the on-campus ice-breaker in which each student
introduces himself or herself, and shares some noteworthy details, such as hobbies, interests,
career plans, etc. Posting an introductory message on this board is a required part of orientation.
The board entitled "The Student Lounge" is a place for on-going student interaction. Here, you
may share study tips, make friends, form study groups, and so on.
The board entitled "The Sandbox" is an experimental board. This is useful if you want to
confirm how Blackboard will display messages containing HTML coding. It allows you to
experiment all you want without cluttering up the production boards with your experimental
postings. You should not post "real" messages here, since most people will probably never read
them.
On all bulletin boards, the messages you post are visible to everyone in the course. If you want
to communicate privately with your instructor, or with another student, you should use the
Blackboard email facility instead. Messages you post in an email can only be read by the
recipient(s) you designate. The instructor generally uses the bulletin board for messages of
interest to all students, and email for messages directed to specific students.
Students can use the calendar to post reminder messages for themselves. Items posted by a
student are only visible on that student's calendar. Items posted by the instructor are visible to all
students. You can feel free to mark up your Blackboard calendar all you want, since no one else
will see those entries. For example, if you want to set personal deadlines in advance of those
established by the instructor (highly recommended), you can include your personal deadlines on
your calendar. Rest assured that setting your own "deadline" will not shorten your assignment
availability. You will still have until the date and time set by your instructor to complete your
assignment. Adhering to a "soft" deadline that you set for yourself just ensures that you will not
run up against the "hard" deadline established by your instructor.
Tracking Your Progress:
As a security measure, you will not be able to view your results for quizzes and exams in
Blackboard Vista until after the availability period has ended. Since some of your coursework
(quizzes and exams) will be completed in Blackboard Vista, and some of your coursework
(homework assignments) will be completed in Mastering Chemistry, your instructor will provide
password protected access to a Website where you can view all of your grades in one place. This
site will also include your overall score in the course, so you can keep track of your academic
standing throughout the semester. Your instructor strongly recommends that you get help early
if you see that your grades are slipping. It is much more difficult to recover after several low
grades have been earned.
Getting Help:
Although this is an online course, you are by no means all alone and on your own. Your
instructor is committed to getting you the help you need to be successful in this course. You are
welcome to email the instructor at any time, and you should receive a reply within 24 hours.
Even better, you can hold a live conversation with the instructor through the Elluminate Chat
Room. The URL is http://elluminatelive.accd.edu. This is much better than a standard textbased chat room. Text chat is there, of course, but this room also provides a shared white board,
and supports voice chat. The instructor uses the shared white board to provide chemistry
tutoring, just as a chalk board or white board would be used in a traditional classroom. While
tutoring, the instructor has his microphone turned on, so if you have a working sound card and
speakers, you can hear the spoken explanations of what is being written on the white board. If
you have a microphone on your computer, you can speak to the instructor and others in the
room. Having a microphone is not a requirement, however. You can still use text-based chat to
ask questions and make comments. To log in to the chat room, use your first and last name
(spaces are allowed) for your user ID. If I were logging in as a student, I would type Dale
Robinson for my user ID. You can also get help at the Science Learning Center. The Science
Learning Center has 2 locations:
Location
Phone
Hours
Frio Hall, Room 111
(210) 486-3281
Pending.
Brazos Hall, Room 126
(210) 486-3232
Pending
COURSE COMPETENCIES
Upon completion of the course, the successful student will be able to:
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Explain the general process that scientists use to investigate natural phenomena.
Convert a measurement expressed in one unit to some other unit, given the appropriate
conversion factors.
Properly apply significant figure rules when making measurements, or working with
measurements reported by others.
Properly apply significant figure rules when performing calculations based on measured
data.
Explain / Identify general features of the periodic table.
Identify commonly encountered compounds as being either ionic or covalent.
Predict the names and formulas of binary compounds.
Be able to convert from a chemical name to a chemical formula, and from a chemical
formula to a chemical name.
Classify chemical reactions according to their type (examples: combination,
decomposition, etc.)
Write and balance chemical equations.
Understand the concepts of oxidation and reduction, assign oxidation numbers to
elements, and balance redox equations.
Understand the characteristics of acids and bases; complete and balance acid / base
neutralization reactions.
Apply solubility rules to write complete formula, ionic, and net ionic equations for
reactions in aqueous solution.
Apply the concepts of stoichiometry to calculate a compound's elemental composition,
empirical formula and molecular formula.
Apply the concepts of stoichiometry to calculate actual, theoretical, or percentage yield of
chemical reactions.
Understand and explain the behavior of gases; use gas laws to carry out calculations
involving gases.
Understand the terms endothermic and exothermic; predict the effect of such reactions on
their system and their surroundings.
Calculate enthalpy changes for chemical reactions using calorimetric data or standard
thermochemical tables.
Understand the relationship between frequency, wavelength and photon energy for
electromagnetic radiation.
Explain how the shell model of the atom accounts for the line spectra of the elements.
Use the known energy levels in the hydrogen atom to calculate the line spectra of
hydrogen.
Relate the position of an element in the periodic table to the electronic structure of its
atoms.
Write electron configurations and draw orbital diagrams for atoms; specify quantum
numbers for electrons in atoms.
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Explain the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the Pauli Exclusion Principle, and Hund's
Rule.
Explain why atomic properties vary in a regular way with an element's position in the
periodic table.
Predict and draw the most probable Lewis structure for common molecules and ions.
Assign VSEPR formulas for molecules and ions based on their proposed Lewis
structures.
Predict the molecular geometry and polarity (or non-polarity) of molecules and ions
based on their Lewis structures.
Class Activities Schedule
Event
Date
Sunday,
August 28
Orientation exercises due.
Sunday,
Chapter 1 assignments due.
September 11
Sunday,
Chapter 2 assignments due.
September 18
Last day to take EXAM 1, covering chapters 1 & 2. This exam must be taken in the Testing
Friday,
Center, located in Brazos Hall, room 100. Call (210) 486-3444 at least 1 business day in
September 23
advance to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins and same day appointments are not accepted.
Sunday,
October 2
Chapter 3 assignments due.
Sunday,
October 9
Chapter 4 assignments due.
Sunday,
October 16
Chapter 5 assignments due.
Friday,
October 21
Last day to take EXAM 2, covering chapters 3, 4, & 5. This exam must be taken in the Testing
Center, located in Brazos Hall, room 100. Call (210) 486-3444 at least 1 business day in advance
to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins and same day appointments are not accepted.
Sunday,
Oceober 30
Chapter 6 assignments due.
Sunday,
November 6
Chapter 7 assignments due.
Sunday,
Chapter 8 assignments due.
November 13
Last day to take EXAM 3, covering chapters 6, 7, & 8. This exam must be taken in the Testing
Friday,
Center, located in Brazos Hall, room 100. Call (210) 486-3444 at least 1 business day in
November 18
advance to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins and same day appointments are not accepted.
Sunday,
Chapter 9 assignments due.
November 20
Monday,
Chapter 10 assignments due. Due date falls on Monday instead of Sunday, due to the
November 28 Thanksgiving holidays.
Friday,
December 2
Last day to take EXAM 4, covering chapters 9 & 10. This exam must be taken in the Testing
Center, located in Brazos Hall, room 100. Call (210) 486-3444 at least 1 business day in
advance to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins and same day appointments are not accepted.
Friday,
December 9
Last day to take the FINAL EXAM, covering chapters 1 - 10 (comprehensive). This exam must
be taken in the Testing Center, located in Brazos Hall, room 100. Call (210) 486-3444 at least 1
business day in advance to schedule an appointment. Walk-in and same day appointments are
not accepted.