Chemistry 120
Prep. for General Chemistry

SYLLABUS

Instructor: Judy George

E-mail: judy.dirbas@gcccd.edu

URL: www.grossmont.edu/judydirbas

Office: Room 30-216   Phone: 619-644-7325

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." Michelangelo, Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet, (1475-1564)

Purpose: A beginning general chemistry course for students with little or no background in chemistry.  This course will be an intensive study in areas of problem solving, basic atomic theory, chemical nomenclature, stoichiometry, gas laws, solutions, acid-base chemistry and redox and more.  The laboratory will be an introduction to quantitative techniques, descriptive chemistry, and data treatment.

Prerequisites: The academic prerequisite for the course is a “C” or “CR” or higher in Mathematics 110 or equivalent.  You must be able to read, write and understand English at a technical level equal to that found in the texts for this course. 

ipods, mp3 players, cell phones, or the like are not allowed in class (lecture or lab). Turn them off and put them away before class starts.

Student Learning Outcomes: This course is both a lecture and a lab course.  Our major goals for the semester are to become fluent in the language of chemistry and to utilize the tools of chemistry to analyze a variety of chemical phenomena.  We will also explore the behavior of materials in the laboratory and use our knowledge of chemistry to explain that behavior.  

In particular, each student will be able to do the following upon completion of this course:

·         Demonstrate a working knowledge of the language of chemistry.

·         Apply quantitative reasoning to chemical problems

·         Apply a laws and theories to explain and predict the properties of atoms and molecules.

·         Employ laboratory equipment and techniques to collect, organize and evaluate experimental data.

Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of the class the student should be able to:

1.       Solve a wide variety of problems using dimensional analysis.

2.       Use proper conventions with regard to significant figures.

3.       Apply the basic terms of science and chemistry.

4.       Write the correct chemical formula from a name and the correct IUPAC name from a formula for simple inorganic compounds.

5.       Relate the position of an element on the periodic table to the electronic structure of that atom at its ion.

6.       Diagram Lewis Dot structures for atoms, simple inorganic ions, and simple compounds.

7.       Prepare three dimensional drawings showing polarity of molecules by applying VSEPR theory.

8.       Solve a wide range of stoichiometry problems involving percent yield, limiting reagents, and impure reactants.

9.       Use both the Arrhenius and Bronsted concepts in describing acid-base behavior.

10.    Compute pH and pOH of a solution from its hydrogen or hydroxide ion molarity.

11.    Write conventional, total, and net ionic equations for reactions in aqueous solutions.

12.    Inventory ion and molecular concentrations in aqueous solutions.

13.    Use standard laboratory equipment such as milligram balances, volumetric glassware, pipets and burets.

14.    Observe a change and determine if it involves a physical change, a chemical change, or both.

15.    Make a good quality graph from data and from a linear plot determine the equation of the line.

Text and Equipment:

Introductory Chemistry, Cracolice/Peters 3^rd edition

If purchasing a used book, the OWL password can be purchased directly from the publisher. 

Chemistry 120, Lab Manual

Homework Packet for 120 (download from webpage)

Master Lock:  the combination kind sold in the bookstore.

Approved laboratory safety glasses and a nonprogrammable calculator capable of exponential notation are also required. 

Bring your nonprogrammable scientific calculator to all class meetings. Your instructor will not provide calculators. 

Homework: 

In order to learn chemistry you should do as many problems as possible.  Ideally you will complete the entire end of chapter exercises. 

OWL assignments are posted online with open and close dates and are required.  They comprise 10% of  the grade. Your instructor will discuss this web based online learning tool.

Exams and Quizzes: There will be four exams this semester in addition to a cumulative

final exam.  These exams are not optional and are given as per the schedule.  Quizzes will be given once a week, in lab, except on exam weeks.  It is very important for the student to stay current and seek assistance when needed.   No make-up quizzes will be given.  Make-up exams will be given with an acceptable, verifiable excuse.  It is the student’s responsibility to arrange a make-up exam within one week of the original test date.

Laboratory Work:  There will be a lab quiz at the start of each new experiment.  This quiz is designed to ensure that you’ve read the lab before coming to class. The pre lab questions for each lab must be completed before coming to the lab period.  Your lab work must be done and completed during YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED TIME and the reports must be turned in order to pass the course.  The skills and knowledge gained in the laboratory part of this course are essential. Lab reports are due at the end of the lab period when possible.  Otherwise, no later than the week after the period in which they are scheduled to be completed.  There will be a 10% deduction per week for each week the lab is late.  The schedule will be modified as needed.   Lab reports must include:

            1. Data recorded during the progress of the experiment in ink.

            2. Recorded data initialed by instructor.

            3. Calculations and calculation set- ups as indicated on the laboratory report

                sheet.

            4. All of the problems and questions given at the end of the report sheet are to be

                completed.

Laboratory sessions will be fully utilized you should plan to stay the whole period!

Results MAY NOT be recorded on other sheets of paper.  ALL LABORATORY DATA AND OBSERVATIONS ARE TO BE DIRECTLY REPORTED ON THE LABORATORY SHEET IN NON ERASABLE INK.

EXPERIMENT 9 WILL BE WRITTEN AS A FORMAL LAB.

 Information concerning a formal lab will be discussed in lab prior to doing experiment 9.

The faculty and the college have determined that integrity and honesty are essential to the academic process and that it is necessary that the written materials submitted by each student in a class reflect his or her own work for that class.

ADACEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

We hope that each student will support this policy and realize the importance of honesty and integrity in his or her academic effort.

Cheating can result in any one of a variety of sanctions.  Such penalties may range from an adjusted grade on the particular exam, paper, project, or assignment to a failing grade in the course.  The instructor may also summarily suspend the student for the class meeting when the infraction occurs, as well as the following class meetings.  For further clarification and information on these issues, please consult with your instructor or contact the office of the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

 “CHEATING” includes  but is not limited to the following:

1.      The possession or use of unauthorized materials such as crib notes or unauthorized copies of exam material.

2.      Copying from another person’s quiz or exam or allowing another person to copy one’s examination material.

3.      Copying another person’s lab data and turning it in as one’s own or allowing another person to copy one’s data.

4.      Using a calculator or computer which contains stored information that can be used while taking a quiz or exam.

5.      The possession and/or use at the students work area of a personal communications device during exams or quizzes.

6.      Submitting a false report for work that was not actually done.

7.      Modifying or attempting to modify an answer on an exam after it has been returned and then claiming it was graded incorrectly.

We hope that each student will support this policy and realize the importance of honesty and integrity in his or her academic effort!

ATTENDANCE:  Regular attendance is expected.  Excessive absence (3 absences) may result in being dropped from the class. Those adding the class must be on the roster by the end of the second week of instruction.

GRADING:  Those enrolled at the end of the semester must receive a letter grade unless they have chosen the CR/NCR option. 

Approximately   88% will be an A, 78% a B, 66% a C and 55% a D grade.  Please note however that anyone with less than 55% average on the exams (including final), or the labs will be given an F.

These percentages are based on:

Exams = 40%

Quizzes =10%

Homework 10%

Labs = 25%

Final = 15%

 Anyone on the borderline, but with test scores substandard to the higher grade, WILL NOT receive the higher grade. Less than a 55% average on the exams (including final), or on the labs will earn an F.  All grades may be subject to a ( +/-) 1-2 % instructor evaluation of the student. 

For accommodations due to a disability, please see your instructor within the first two weeks of the semester.

For accommodations due to a disability, please see your instructor within the first two weeks of the semester. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact Disabled Student Programs & Services (DSPS) early in the semester so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible.  Students may contact DSP&S in person in Room 110 or by telephone at (619) 644-7112 or (619) 644-7119 (TTY for deaf).

Chemistry 120 – Tentative Schedule – Spring 2009

1st Day Lab

Density

Physical Properties

Graphing

Avogadro's Number

Double Displacement

Chemical RXNs

Limiting Reagents

Conductivity

Molecular Models

PV=nRT

Titration