QUEENS COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
Chemistry 113 Course Information Spring 2004
*****************************************************************************
I. Attendance:
You should attend all lectures recitations and laboratory sessions. If you miss an exam/lab for a legitimate reason, the following policies will be followed:
• No make-ups will be given for lecture exams. If you miss a lecture exam, your final exam grade will be used to compensate for the missed exam.
Note: If you do not miss any lecture exams, your final exam grade, if higher, will replace your lowest lecture exam grade. For example, suppose you receive grades of 50, 60 and 75 in the lecture exams, and 70 in the final examination . Your overall grade will be calculated as as if you scored 70, 60 and 75 in the lecture exams and 70 in the final. Hence, it is in your best interest to attend all exams even if you feel that you are not fully prepared for a particular exam.
• If you miss the final exam for a legitimate reason, and you have a reasonable chance of passing the course, you will be given an ABS grade. No make up finals are given. You will be required to take the final in the course during the following semester. Your grade will be based on the work done in this course and the final taken next semester. An ABS grade must be resolved within one semester otherwise it will automatically revert to an F.
• If you miss a laboratory for a legitimate reason, you must make up the laboratory as soon as possible. Because of fire and safety regulations, the chemicals used for a given experiment are usually removed from the laboratory soon after the last class has completed the experiment. If the chemicals are removed from the laboratory, you will not be able to make up the experiment. However, missing one lab session (or one low grade) should not have a material effect on your overall lab grade.
2. Please note the following:
• “Incomplete” grades are not given in General Chemistry courses. See ABS above. Also, please realize that no “extra credit projects” will be given. Your grade will be based solely on your performance in the lecture exams, final exams, laboratory work, and computer exercises.
• All laboratory reports are due one week after the experiment is completed. All laboratory reports must be prepared on a computer and printed.
• If you drop the course, please check out of the laboratory immediately otherwise you could be charged a substantial fee.
• After completion of the course, you should give your RECITATION INSTRUCTOR a stamped self-addressed post card and he or she will send you the grade. No grades will be given out over the phone, or by email.
• Any questions regarding the grading of exams or the course will be resolved by the lecturer.
• If you want the lecturer to check the grading on an examination, do not make make any changes to the examination paper once it has been handed back to you.
Recommended Questions and Problems
YOU are the best judge of what you do and do not know. The best (only) way to be sure is for you to solve problems. The following lists the minimum that should be done. Obviously, the more you do the better, but here’s a suggestion. After an exam, many students say that they did every homework problem and understood each of them, but when they took the exam, they got nervous, and underperformed. There is no simple solution to nervousness. Nevertheless, all of us must learn to handle it. The best advice we can offer is preparation, preparation and MORE PREPARATION. However, preparation does NOT mean doing the same problems over and over, or rereading the chapters again and again. The key to increasing your skill, and your confidence, is to see how many different ways the same question can be asked and be confident that you can answer these questions under examination conditions. Many of the problems given in the exams are very similar to those in the text. Therefore, do the questions in your text. There are three groups of problems in your text. The first is called “Thinking It Through”. We recommend you do all of these problems in each chapter. The second is called “Review Problems”. Here, we recommend that you do all of those whose numbers appear in color since the answers are given in Appendix D. Test yourself to see if you understand the material. Lastly, is a group called “Additional Exercises”. Again, we recommend you do those with the colored numbers. If you’ve completed all of the problems from the different groups, you can do those with the black numbers, but those are usually very similar to the ones you’ve already done. Instead, test yourself by going to the library and getting any other first year chemistry text (they basically all cover the same topics, and a few are listed below). Find the appropriate chapters and do the problems. However, do only those problems for which the answer is supplied in the back of the text so you can test yourself. By doing this, you will see the different ways a question on the same material can be asked. This will increase your awareness and improve your confidence by answering each question. You should also try the examinations from the past - some will be made available too you. You can also find examinations from other colleges by searching the internet. Be resourceful.
Another useful learning tool are videotapes of instructors solving problems. The problems are from a previously used text (Navidi & Radel “Chemistry”), but they are analogous to the ones in the current text. Xeroxes of the problems that are solved are available in the chemistry office. Ask for a copy when you ask to use the tape. You may view the videotapes in the chemistry office, or by leaving your ID; you can take them home and view them on your own VCR. Tapes can be taken out after 3 PM and must be returned before 10 AM the next day. As expected, these are in demand before an exam, and given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Consequently don’t wait to the last moment; the best is to use them as you cover the material in the class.
A lot of material will be posted on QC blackboard course website. You must regularly visit the site for additional course information.
Set up study groups, or use the web to work on problems together. You can send me an email at adbqc@forbin.qc.edu if you have a question. I will not do problems via email, but will be happy to answer specific questions.
******************************************************************************
OTHER TEXTS YOU MIGHT USE:
Kotz & Terichel "Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity"; Zumdahl, "Chemistry"; Atkins & Jones, "Chemistry, Molecules, Matter and Change"; Navidi & Radel “Chemistry”
******************************************************************************
LUCID SOFTWARE
Depending on room availability the recitation is sometimes given in a computer room where students use Lucid software. Otherwise a “traditional” recitation will be given in which the recitation instructor answers students questions and solves problems. Even if you have a traditional recitation class, you may still make use of the Lucid software in your own time. You should consult Dr. Subramaniam to make arrangements to use the computer lab in Remsen (Rem 205) OR you can go to the Computer lab in I building, Room 200. This lab is open all day, but the computers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Left click on start, go to programs and left click, then click on Lucid activities. Follow the instructions in Lucid.
The computer-based Lucid exercises focus on selected portions of each chapter. They are intended as a self-learning processes, where you will be teaching yourself material before it is covered in the lecture. Therefore, it is essential that you read the sections assigned on the attached sheet before going to the computer lab. If you are taking a Lucid based recitation you will be working in groups of up to three people assigned by the recitation instructor. Each group will be required to write the answers to computer exercises and submit them to your recitation instructor at the end of the period for grading. Your recitation grade will be based on these written submissions. You will need to bring a periodic table, a calculator, and a notebook to the computer-based recitations. If you do not have a Lucid based reciation, you may use the software on an individual basis, or (better) work with a study group.
The computer-based exercises that you will work on in the recitations focus on selected portions of each chapter and do not cover all of the material in each chapter. They are not intended to replace the text book. We will cover the first ten chapters in the book. Therefore, you must read the text to be prepared for the exams. Additional resources available to help you prepare for exams are:
1. Review problems at the end of the chapters that are highlighted with red numbers. You can also use other first-year chemistry textbooks that are available in the library. Just do the problems for which answers are given in the back of the book.
2. Videotapes showing how to solve typical Chemistry 113 problems are available in Remsen 206. (see above)/ If you chose to make use of the tapes, please ask the secretary for the Xerox copy of the problems that are being done.
Laboratory Reports
I. All experiments require a formal laboratory report. All reports must be typed or word-processed. All should be checked for correct spelling and correct grammar.
II. All laboratory reports are due one week after the experiment is completed.
III. Report Format.
1. Cover Page: Name of the experiment, your name, the course number and section, and the date.
2. Introduction: The introduction is a short summary, in your own words, of the experiment that includes what was measured and how it was measured. Simple copies of the procedure in the laboratory manual are unacceptable. It must be in your words, informative, and to the point. For example, “the heat release in the reaction NaOH + HCl ---> H2O + NaCl was determined by measuring the temperature change during the reaction in a Styrofoam calorimeter”, or “the mass of the sample was determined with an electronic analytic balance.”
3. Results: Usually the results of each experiment are recorded in the “Report Sheet” in your laboratory manual. This sheet is removed from the laboratory manual, attached to the lab report and submitted as part of the lab report.
4. Calculations: This section is required only if calculations were performed to obtain the result of the experiment. The calculations must be clear to the reader. To achieve clarity, the experimental results are stated first, then the formulas used, and lastly a representative calculation of the result. All numbers must include the appropriate units.
5. Discussion: This section is the most difficult, but also the most important. It begins with a statement of the results of the experiments or the calculations. It might include plotting the data to show how one parameter changes as a function of another. You then compare your results to the known or expected values. You must state, or reference the source of the known value. If your results are within experimental error of the known value, you simply have to state that. More than likely, however, your results may not be within experimental error of the expected value. In this case, check your calculations to make sure you have done them correctly. If the calculations are correct, then more than likely, the error is in the way you carried out the experiment, or the instrument or method you used to make the measurement. In either case, you should try to provide a reason as to why you think your value differs from the accepted value. If the discussion provides a clear explanation for why you think your value differs from the expected value, then you will receive full credit for the experiment because this demands as good an understanding of the basic principles of the experiment as getting a value within experimental error of the expected value.