Sacramento City College
CHEMISTRY 401
Daniel Bender
Spring, 2015
GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Chemistry 401 is a continuation of General Chemistry 400. This course includes topics in kinetics,
thermodynamics, gas-phase equilibrium, ionic equilibrium, electrochemistry, chemistry of coordination
compounds, nuclear chemistry and beginning organic chemistry. Critical thinking and writing skills will be
practiced in this course. One hour per week will be devoted to a discussion/problem solving session. Chemistry
401 is for students in biology, chemistry, pre-dentistry, pre-medicine, pre- pharmacy, and engineering. The
laboratory includes both quantitative and qualitative experiments and some qualitative analysis. Written
laboratory write-ups are required. It is recommended that Chemistry 400 and 401 be taken during consecutive
semesters. (CAN CHEM 4)
PREREQUISITES
st
Chemistry: 1 semester general chemistry (Chem 400) or equiv. with a grade of “C” or better.
REQUIRED Materials:
• Textbook: Chemistry: A Molecular Approach 3rd Edition, © 2013 by Nivaldo Tro with Mastering Chemistry
online homework pass-code. ISBN 9781269651684 with the pass-code (Any other college level general
chemistry textbook is acceptable if you buy a separate Mastering Chemistry pass-code, ~$54 online at
http://www.masteringchemistry.com/site/register/new-students.html , or ~$59 at the college bookstore for those
without access to a credit card)
• Lab Manual (Packet) for Chem 401, 2013 – 2014 Academic Year
• Laboratory Notebook: Bound Composition Book (at least 9.5” tall).
• Safety Goggles: Must be form fitting to the face and have indirect venting.
• Scantron: 50 questions per side (#882)
• Scientific Calculator: with log and ln capabilities and scientific notation, square root; programmable OK.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES
Homework sets will generally consist of online “Mastering Chemistry” problems assigned through the Pearson
website (http://www.masteringchemistry.com/site). The due date will be set based on the expected completion
date for the lecture material that the assignment corresponds to. To makeup for any possible technical glitches
with mastering you will start out with 30 pts.
Course Code for Mastering Chemistry is: chem401spr2015.
There will be quizzes throughout the semester based on the completed homework assignments and the
lecture. Quizzes will be given at the end of class and you should come prepared for a quiz everyday.
Please have a scantron and a pencil ready every class sesssion. The lowest two quizes will be
dropped so if you miss a quiz it will be counted as a low quiz.
LABORATORY:
The laboratory experiences are an integral part of the class. They not only serve to reinforce lecture concepts, but
also will be used to introduce new ideas and to provide you with the opportunity to be an experimental scientist.
Students will check into their lockers during the first week of lab. If you drop the class for any reason, you should
come and check out of your locker at the next available lab period.
LAB POINTS
LAB WRITE-UPS.
Pre-lab write-ups will be checked at the beginning of the lab period and will be worth 2-3 4-6 points each.
Required calculations and graphs will be checked for completeness during the following lab period.
Completeness checks are worth 5 10 points for most labs. NO CREDIT GIVEN FOR LATE WORK!
There will be a flow chart (6 12 points) and an unknown (6 12 points) as part of the qualitative analysis lab.
There will be one more extensive write-up required for the acid-base titration lab, which will be worth additional
points.
ANSWER KEYS
•
Each lab write-up will be available during lab (the other two, not your own), discussion (the other 3, not
your own), and office hours. Students must receive a completeness score of 4 out of 5 (80% complete) in order to
review the key. Students can then make any required changes to their write-up if corrections are necessary prior
to the quiz. WRITE-UPS, INCLUDING CORRECTIONS, MAY BE CONSULTED DURING LAB QUIZZES.
LAB QUIZZES
•
Quizzes will be given after the completion of every 1-2 labs. Lab quizzes will be worth 10 20 points per
experiment.
•
DO NOT BE LATE FOR LAB. Quizzes are given at the start of lab and extra time will not be given for
those who arrive late!
•
Lab quizzes are OPEN LAB NOTEBOOK. If you complete all required observations in lab, do the
required after-lab work, and check the results, the lab quizzes should go well.
•
DO NOT MISS ANY LAB QUIZZES. IF YOU MISS 1 QUIZ, YOU WILL RECEIVE THE SAME
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS THAT YOU RECEIVED ON YOUR LOWEST OTHER LAB QUIZ. IF YOU
MISS MORE THAN ONE LAB QUIZ, YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO FOR THAT QUIZ.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance at all class sessions is necessary for successful completion of the course.
Without question, the single most important contribution to student failure in Chemistry 401 is poor
attendance. Following district policy , a student can be dropped for excessive absences. "Excessive
absences is defined as the number of unexcused absences which equal the weekly number of class
meetings. Thus, the student who accumulates 2 or more unexcused absences during the semester can
be expected to be dropped from the course. If a student does wish to withdraw from the course, It is
the student's responsibility to formally drop the course and check out of the laboratory locker. Failure
to formally drop the course "just stop coming", may result in an "F" grade for the semester.
(The student should be reminded that an F received for not formally dropping a course becomes part of
the student's permanent record and to any reviewer appears no different than completion of the course
with a failing grade.)
GRADING
The course grade for Chemistry 401 will be weighted as one-fifth from laboratory and four fifths
from lecture. For the lecture portion of the course, students will be evaluated based on a percentage of
a total of 800 points accumulated during the semester. Points will be assigned for (1) three midterm
examinations, (2) a final examination, and (3) quizzes (4) homework. Arrangements for make-up exams
may be arranged prior to the scheduled exam date if reasons appear valid and justifiable. The student
who misses a scheduled midterm examination and merely shows up at the next class period
expecting a "makeup" will be given a zero for that particular exam. Although this policy may
appear harsh, it is in the interest of fairness. To allow one student the advantage of additional study
time and the possibility of obtaining Information about the exam would be highly unfair to the remainder
of the class.
BASIS OF Evaluation
Grades
Midterms (2)
Final Exam
Quizzes
Laboratory
Mastering
Total
>90
80-89
70-79
60-69
< 50
200 points
200 "
90 "
160 "
50
700 “
A
B
C
D
F