Syllabus for Chem 123
Chemistry for Life Lab
(Chemistry for Allied Health)
Fall 2010
Instructor: Mr. Ross Fischer
Office Location: Harlan Hall 210
Phone: Ross Fischer 538-6447
Please leave a message with a return phone number, which class (Chem for Life), and your
name.
Email:
fischerr1@wnmu.edu e-mail is the best way to contact me.
Please use your mustang express account for e-mailing me. I will e-mail messages to the lab
using Mustang Express, so it is important that you check your account often.
Office Hours: Monday-Wednesday
9:00-10:30 am
Course Catalog Description: Introduction to chemistry covering general and organic chemistry.
Can be used for general education and nursing requirements (requires some algebra. This course is
broader in scope but less intensive and or mathematical on specific topics than General Chemistry
153 and 154). This course does not constitute a prerequisite for Chemistry majors.
Required Text: There is no textbook that you need to buy. All labs will be done on worksheets that
will be provided at the beginning of lab or by email a week before the lab is to be completed. I want
everyone to purchase a periodic table and a chemistry reference sheet at the bookstore.
Course Instructional Objectives: This course is not designed to make someone a chemist. Its
objective is to introduce the student to a chemistry lab and to show some of the techniques chemists
use to solve problems. We cover methods that teach the student how to measure in the laboratory
setting. It is designed to engender an understanding of how chemistry relates to life, the profession of
nursing, and to the well-educated individual.
Course Outcomes or Competencies: A successful student will learn the following basics of
Chemistry and Laboratory Sciences:
 Proper laboratory safety
 Proper measuring techniques
 An understanding of gas laws and their practical use.
 An understanding of the concepts of the Mole, atoms, ions, and the way chemists can
measure them.
 An understanding of the concepts of conservation of mass and energy and how they can be
measured.
Assessment/Evaluation and Grading Scale:
1. Your attendance is mandatory. Your attendance is mandatory. We need you to be in class at
the beginning of lab and plan to remain in the lab until you have finished your work. At the
beginning of the lab we discuss how and what you need to do, therefore it is in your best
interest that you are on time for the lab. If you have a timing conflict that is going to cause you
to be late or you need to leave early, you must speak with the instructor as soon as possible.
Leaving the lab early without permission will result in a zero for that lab grade. Expect to be in
the lab for 1 hour and 50 minutes. University policy states that the instructor of a lab can drop
you for the lab after two unexcused absents. Please remember that your attendance is
mandatory.
2. Attendance is taken at the beginning of the lab, a sign in sheet will be placed in a location were
you can sign in before the lab starts. Labs will start and stop on the scheduled times. If you are
more than 10 minutes late, the instructor may not allow you to attend that lab session.
3. The first time you miss a lab, you may be given a 0 for that lab. The second time you miss lab
you must contact your instructor to schedule a make-up lab. If you can’t speak with me
personally, you may leave a message on my answering machine stating that you wish to make
up the lab. You must leave a phone number where we can contact you. I may request an
excuse slip or statement before allowing you to make up the lab. Student athletes, club
members, and students in classes going on field trips will be excused from lab if, and only if,
your coach or sponsor sends an email stating that you are going to be out of town. It is your
responsibility to schedule a make-up. I prefer that you schedule the make-up lab before you
leave town. Excused absences will be allowed to make up all labs.
4. Much of your work will be done with a lab partner. Please select someone that you can work
with. Usually you will remain with your lab partner for the entire semester, if you have a
problem working with an individual, please discuss the problem with us. We will try to
rearrange things so that you both may have a good lab experience. The instructors reserve the
right to reassign lab partners.
5. Written lab reports will be required for all labs during this semester. If you fail to turn in your
lab worksheets you will receive no grade for that lab. Labs must be turned in at the stated
time; usually the day after the lab is done. Wednesday labs are due on Thursdays; Thursday’s
labs are due on Friday. If you do not turn in the lab worksheets you will fail the course.
6. Please use a pencil while writing your lab report. Labs will need to be stapled together in
the proper order before being turned in. There is a stapler in the lab for this purpose.
7. Failure to follow safety instructions is cause for dismissal from the lab and a zero grade for that
week’s lab.
8. It is important to read the lab before coming to the laboratory.
9. At my discretion I will give quizzes at the being of lab for extra credit. The quizzes will be about
that week’s lab. This is to help me see who is reading the lab before coming to class.
10. Grading
You will be graded on approximately 11 labs and a lab practical (a lab practical is a final lab
test). Each lab will be graded from 100 points. Your lowest lab grade will be dropped. The lab
practical will count as two lab grades (200 points). A distribution curve will be applied the three
sections of chemistry for life lab and a letter grade will then be assigned.
Other Expectations:
1. You will use the physical science drawer at your station. Open the draw slowly and carefully, it
has glassware in it. Your glassware and equipment is expensive and it is your responsibility to
keep this drawer clean and organized. At the end of every lab you are to clean any glassware
that you used and place all equipment back into your drawer. Dry wet beakers with a paper
towel. Your lab fee covers only a part of the chemicals, copies, and glassware that you will use
this semester. You are to use only the drawer assigned to you. Do not open any other drawers.
2. When you take any materials from a container, please replace the lid or stopper. Please leave
things as clean and organized or better than you found them.
3. Please leave your lab station clean. Unless otherwise, told throw away your solid trash in the
trash cans, not the sink. Pour your liquid waste into the sink, not the trash cans. Points will be
deducted if your station is left messy.
Safety Rules
The laboratory is one of the most dangerous places on campus. By following certain rules you will not
have any problems.
1. It is important that you know what you are doing before you start the lab. You need to read the
lab manual before coming to the laboratory.
2. There are two safety showers in the lab. These are for rinsing off students that accidentally
spill large amounts of chemicals on themselves. They can also help in extinguishing students
that are on fire.
3. There are two eyewash stations in the lab. These are for washing out eyes that may
accidentally get chemicals splashed into them.
4. We have a shelf with extra safety glasses. Certain labs will require you to wear safety glasses.
During these labs you must wear the glasses all the time. You are welcome to purchase your
own pair. Walmart, Ace hardware, and Sun Valley Do-It center sell them for several dollars a
pair. The instructor will dismiss anyone who doesn’t wear their safety glasses and a zero grade
will be given for that week’s lab.
5. Please wear appropriate clothing during labs. Extra loose clothing and long hair that can get
caught in your experiments should be avoided. Tie back long hair prior to lab. Please wear
appropriate shoes, make them comfortable and easy to walk on. No sandals allowed. No
Shorts or Short skirts allowed.
6. We will be working with Bunsen burners and open flames. Please be careful not to start fires or
burn yourself. Hot glass looks like cold glass. When working with the burners remember that
things get hot. Ring stands and tripods get hot fast.
7. We have fume hoods where fumes are sucked out of the room. You will be asked to perform
some experiments in the fume hood. Please listen to and follow instructions when you are
asked to use the fume hoods.
8. NO HORSEPLAY, FOOLING AROUND, OR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR WILL BE
TOLERATED. You will be asked to leave if you disturb the class or if your behavior is unsafe.
9. In order to allow a positive learning atmosphere for everyone; obscenities, offensive and foul
language will not be tolerated. Please respect your fellow students.
Disability Services at WNMU:
Services for students with disabilities are provided through the Academic Support Center’s Disability
Services Office in the Juan Chacon Building, Room 220. Some examples of the assistance provided
are: audio materials for the blind or dyslexic, note takers, readers, campus guides, audio recorders, a
quiet testing area, and undergraduate academic tutors. In order to qualify for these services,
documentation must be provided by qualified professionals on an annual basis. Disability Services
forms are available in the Academic Support Center. The Disability Services Office, in conjunction
with the Academic Support Center, serves as Western New Mexico University's liaison for students
with disabilities. The Academic Support Center’s Disability Services Office can be contacted by
phone at 575.538.6400 or e-mail at matterr@wnmu.edu.